Through Fire and Rain
by Kemnam
Summary: Roy Mustang had always expected that the day his life would end would be in an Inferno, just like how he had ended so many others' lives. But Roy never expected the day when he became the Inferno. Chimera!Roy. No Pairings. Chimerism starts chapter 5!
1. Epoch

**_A/N: If you want to skip straight to the chimerism, then it is possible to start reading this story at Chapter 5, which is where it starts. But eventually, you will have to come back and read all of this. It's up to you, it WILL work either way._**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or it's characters.  
**

_With every age in the world, there is a sequence of events, or an "epoch", that brings about that age._

* * *

They came in the night.

Though he was never one to keep a gun under his pillow, Colonel Roy Mustang did sleep with his ignition gloves less than a foot away from his face on the night stand. Not that he was paranoid or anything. So long as they were where he could always see them and were in arms reach, then he found he slept a little easier at night. Despite this extra safety, he was a very light sleeper. At least, he was on nights when he didn't drink himself to bed. On those nights, he slept like a dead person, not even dreaming. But luckily, tonight had not been one of those nights.

Roy was awake before he snapped his eyes open. He took a quick, deep breath and lay absolutely still. The darkness stifled the world inside and outside with a thickness like a blanket. No stars or moonlight could be seen outside his small window. For a few moments, the only things he heard were his own heartbeat and a high pitched whine in his ears from the blood rushing though his veins.

Roy had gone to bed at around two in the morning, having come back from a rather grueling day at work. Actually, it wasn't so much a grueling day as it was the past few weeks that had been very trying. Lots of paperwork, lots of meetings, and not enough time in the day did not make a good combination. He had stayed late at the office trying to catch up almost every night the past week.

Tonight, when the stacks of paper seemed to be getting lighter, Hawkeye had even suggested that he take the day off tomorrow if he did manage to get all his work done. He had smiled at her and joked about how he might just request the next week or two off if this workload kept up much longer. She had scowled at that, not keen of the idea of having to deal with the Colonel's paperwork all by herself. Roy laughed at that and sent her home, a part of him dreading the long night of work ahead of him. But it really wasn't that bad. Roy had had a lot worse workloads and schedules in the past, and he still managed to eat lunch everyday. It just seemed like his mind and body were not up to the task this time.

Unlike right now, when his body was tense and his mind was racing to form a plan of action. Seeing as the sun wasn't rising yet, Roy gauged the time to be between three and five o'clock. And by the slight creaking and cracking that his house was giving, there were definitely people creeping around inside. Roy knew that if it was Havoc, Hughes, Hawkeye, or anybody else who knew him, then they would just barge into his room and wake him up for whatever they needed - leading Roy to the conclusion that these were people who should _not_ have been here.

Roy had snatched his gloves and thrown himself out of bed within a second, hardly making a sound. Before he had dropped himself into bed so gracelessly, he had managed to wriggle himself out of his military jacket, shirt, and boots, now leaving him shirtless and barefoot. The cool March night air pricked his skin, making him alert and vigilant. He pulled his gloves on as he quietly made his way out of his bedroom and down the narrow hallway, keeping his back to the wall and walking on the balls of his feet.

He could hear the intruder, or _intruders_ by the sound of more than one foot fall, clanking around in his small living room, which was illuminated by the streetlight on the corner outside. Reaching the end of the hallway, Roy glanced around the corner to see that there were in fact only two people, all dressed in black and their faces hidden within the shadows of their hoods.

Burglars, huh? Roy couldn't help but smirk at that. He was a man of very few prized possessions. There was absolutely no silver, gold, glass, or crystal within his narrow rent house. Truth be told, he barely owned little more than the over stuffed couch in the living room and the booze under the cabinet in the kitchen. Roy doubted they were here for the couch… and if they got anywhere near his Scotch, they were going down.

Roy stepped out from the hallway and raised his hand, fingers poised to snap. He couldn't see any guns or gun holsters on the robbers, but that didn't mean that they weren't concealed in some way.

"Turn around slowly if you want to keep your skin." Roy said in a low voice.

The robbers jumped, and he saw one of them reached around his back for the waistband of his pants. A sharp snap, and the man's fingers and hand were soon blistered and red from the stream of inferno that leapt from Roy's gloved hands. The robber cried out in pain and grasped his hand to his chest. The other robber, slightly taller than the one that got burned, cried out a name and put his hands on his back and arm.

"I'll say it again; turn around slowly, put your hands in the air."

This time the two robbers froze. They lifted their hands in the air, the smaller one keeping his burned hand to his chest. They turned around, keeping their heads bent so as so keep their faces hidden from the light cast from the streetlight. Their chins and mouths were brought into light, and Roy observed that the taller one had a gray moustache and goatee.

"I don't know what you were expecting to find, but you guys sure picked the wrong house to rob." Roy grinned wickedly at the two other men. "So I guess the question now is; what should I do with you?"

"Colonel Roy Mustang." The man with the goatee hissed. Roy was surprised.

"You knew whose house you were breaking into and you still did it anyway?" Roy chuckled. "You guys have nerve, I'll give you that. Bet you didn't find anything, did you?"

"Actually, we found exactly what we were looking for." The man with the burned hand spoke, his voice tight with pain.

Roy cocked an eyebrow at that, his curiosity peaked. "Oh? And what is that?"

In retrospect, Roy probably shouldn't have been so cocky. He should have just sucked the oxygen out of the air and knocked them out. He should have phoned the police and let them handle the situation. Or better yet, phoned Maes so these robbers would be taken into military custody. Plus, it would have given Roy the chance to brag and get a little revenge for all of Maes' calls in the middle of the night when Elysia was still a baby and had woken him up. But no. He didn't do any of that. Little did Roy know, was that he was about to be thrown into a world that was much darker and much more chaotic than he could ever have prepared himself for. Why on Earth did he give them more time?

The man with the burned hand tilted his head up ever so slightly so the light could reflect across his eyes, illuminating them into deadly silver, much like the chemical mercury.

"You."

In a split second, Roy went from cocky to confused, then to startled as he felt the presence of two other men behind him. One splashed a bucket of cold water over his back, soaking his back and arms along with the glove of his hand that was still hanging by his side. He was breathless for a moment from the cold, and then spun around with his fingers tense, sparks and electricity jumping from his fingers. But as soon as he did, the other man slung another bucket of water across his chest and face, wetting his remaining glove.

_Not good, not good, not good!_ Roy clenched his hand and lurched forward, punching blindly as the water on his face and in his hair dripped into his eyes. He felt his fist connect solidly with flesh and heard a grunt of pain. He was about to follow through, until a rope around his neck yanked him back and he stumbled into the man with the goatee, who pulled the rope tighter until Roy could barely breath. The two men from the hall took out their lengths of rope as well. One tied Roy's kicking feet together, while the other managed to grab both of his hands, which were trying to pull the rope away from his neck, and tied them together as well. All three of the men holding him down were incredibly strong. Inhumanly strong. Stronger than Major Armstrong, it seemed.

The man with the silver eyes and burned hand knelt down beside Roy's struggling form and procured a white sack and a syringe from his hood. Roy knew immediately what was happening and a pang of fear made his heart tremble. These were not robbers at all. They were kidnappers. He had no doubt in his mind that that syringe was filled with an anesthetic of some sort.

"Who are you guys?" Roy choked out. "What do you want?"

Silver Eyes slipped the hood over Roy's head, who panicked more and started to thrash harder, but to no avail. Man, these people were unbelievably strong! Roy felt a sharp pain just above his collarbone and his body started to go numb. His kicking became less and less powerful, his breathing became less and less labored. Just before Roy lost consciousness, Silver Eyes whispered into his ear;

"We are your Sentries. You have been chosen."

* * *

A/N: Hello! So this is my first Fullmetal Alchemist FanFiction! I just recently got back into my anime craze and found out that they had made Brotherhood(I had watched the first series a long time ago). Needless to say, I watched that whole series within a week. And yet, I find that I can't get enough of it now! Especially Roy Mustang, hot dang.

SO, with that said, PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE!

I am putting out an official beta request for this fic. I've messaged a few people, but I've either been turned down or haven't gotten an answer yet. I don't need grammar and spelling beta'd, although it wouldn't hurt. But there are plot ideas that I have tangled with, and it's affecting my writing. I need to get a few things straightened out before I can post more, and I would really like someone's help with this. So basically, someone to brainstorm with. If YOU are interested, please review or PM me and I will tell you more. I really want this fic to be the best it could possibly be.

Also, there is a poll regarding this fic on my page. You should go there are pick a choice. Yeah.

As always, read, review, and enjoy!


	2. Entropy

**_A/N: I would like to remind everyone that this is a no pairing story. Give my plot helpers("OC's") a chance. That is_ _all._**

* * *

_If we continue along with this entropy any longer, chaos will consume us, and eventually there will be nothing left._

* * *

Roy felt a light tapping on his cheek.

"Come on, come on, wake up!" A voice said through the blackness. It was distinctly female, and whispered in a panicked rush. A hand patted his cheek again, this time harder and faster. "God damn, how much did they give you? Get up, soldier. I don't know how long they plan to keep you."

Roy immediately took a deep breath, a habit to help wake up from drug induced sleep. His nostrils were instantly filled with the stench of anti-septic, dust, and something metallic, like copper. The ground beneath him was cement, grinding painfully against the still damp skin on his back and shoulders. He sat up, the blood rushing from his head making him dizzy. Roy put his hands on his face, which were still bound, same as his feet. A rope still hung around his neck as well.

Roy looked up and drank in his surroundings. He – and about thirty other people were all locked inside a long holding cell, one wall open and blocked off by bars. On the other side of the bars, Roy could see tables with bloody tools on them, chains on the floor along with a large drawing that Roy couldn't make out clearly, and people in white lab coats going over notes and talking quietly to themselves. Slowly, like ink floating to the surface of water, Roy recalled what had happened to him, his stomach clenching in fear.

"Thank God, I thought they had over dosed you." The female voice said behind him.

Roy looked over his shoulder. He had to guess that she was possibly around Hawkeye's age, twenty-seven or twenty-eight. She had shoulder length wavy blonde hair and bright green eyes that bore into his dark blue ones. From what he could see past her short-sleeved gray t-shirt and white shorts, she was very skinny in an unhealthy way, like she had been starved. But yet, she looked vaguely familiar…

"Are you alright?" She asked, putting her hands on his shoulder, which were bound together. Her feet were bound too, and she also had a rope around her neck. It was the same with everybody else in the cell, who all looked like they were starved as well Mustang noticed.

"Yeah, I think so." Roy said, turning his body to face her. "Where are we?"

"I don't know." The woman said with an exasperated sigh. "They drugged us all before they took us here."

_Figures_. Roy looked again at the people with whom he shared a cell with. There didn't seem to be anything remarkable about these people. Nobody wore military outfits like him(or half of one, in his case), none wore lab coats, or any other type of garment or ornament that would distinguish them from the others. In fact, most of them seemed to still be wearing the pajamas that they had worn to the beds they had been taken from.

"Are you a State Alchemist?"

Roy turned his attention back towards the woman, an eyebrow perked. She flicked her eyes down to his thigh, where one could easily see the silver chain of his pocket watch. Roy reached into his pocket and pulled out his watch. It appeared untouched, except for the deep scratch on the dragon's eye that hadn't been there before. The woman next to him groaned, much to Roy's surprise.

"That's probably not a good thing, soldier." She said. Roy quickly put the watch back. "If they brought you here, it can only mean that they are getting more confident. They're closer to reaching their goal."

Roy cursed inwardly, knowing she was right. But what was their goal, and to what ends were they willing to go to achieve it? The woman was watching him intently, her face as hard and focused. She seemed like the kind of person who would wear glasses.

It was in that moment that Mustang recognized her.

Roy had read about her in a newspaper article in the sections where they listed the bio's and back stories of people who had recently gone missing. That was about two weeks ago. Roy couldn't remember her name, but from what he remembered of the profile on her missing poster, she was a doctor, and a damn good one at that. She specialized in medicinal alchemy – much like Doctor Marcoh – at a facility in West Amestris. She wasn't a State Alchemist, but she was more than qualified to become one. The military had offered her the title, as well as full funding for her research, but she had turned them down, probably out of contempt, seeing as her husband had been killed in Ishval. Roy couldn't remember exactly what it was she had been researching when she went missing.

She must have seen the recognition on Roy's face, as she smiled gently.

"I was one of the first people they brought here." She said. "They told me that they had forged my signature on a leave-of-absence form at my work. I have no doubt they did sort of the same thing for you. I've lost count of how many months I've been here."

Roy couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for her, as well as frustration for knowing that no one would take suspicion in his absence. After the work load he had just muscled through, it was natural for one to want to take time off. And after he had joked about taking the next week or two off with Hawkeye, he knew she wouldn't suspect anything either, thinking that he had actually been serious about what he said. _Stupid Mustang_. Roy scolded himself. _Hawkeye is going to shoot me._ At the same time though, it made Roy think: it wasn't easy to forge a signature of someone in the military, much less to be able to turn it in and approved. There was no way a bunch of anarchists or foreigners would be able to successfully accomplish such a feat. Unless… _Dammit!_ Roy cursed. There were only two possible explanations; either there were traitors inside the military, or these people were working_ for_ the military, and had staged the whole thing. Roy desperately hoped that that wasn't the case. But it would not have been the first time the government had used its own people for experiments.

And when Roy didn't return from however long his requested time off was, when people would piece together that he _wasn't_ coming back and begin to look for him, it would probably already be too late.

"What can you tell me about these people?" Roy asked.

"They call themselves the Sentries." The doctor began, keeping her voice low. "I don't know if they are a foreign organization, or just anarchists, but they have some pretty twisted views on humanity."

"What kind of twisted?"

Her eyes darkened. "The kind along the lines of, 'humans are weak and pathetic and therefore must become better by becoming something else.'" The doctor spat. Roy scowled as well, looking out into the lab once more.

"Chimeras." Mustang growled. God, why was it always chimeras? Why couldn't it ever be automail fanatics or zombies? Not that the Colonel was complaining. He preferred to keep his limbs and his brain, thank you very much.

"Yes. But it gets worse, soldier." The doctor continued. "From what I've learned, these people have a serious hunger for power, and I thik they are also in the midst of some kind of war. They're planning something. Something big. I don't know how soon, but they are going to keep trying and trying until they get the results they want."

Roy looked back at her. Her eyes had gone shiny with tears. Roy had already made the connection that whatever gruesome experiment they were doing, the people in the cell had front row seats to the results, as well as insight to their own dark fate. He looked at the drawing on the floor on the other side of the bars again, this time piecing together that it was in actuality a very large transmutation circle. The pentagon as the structural support for the alchemy as well as the ancient words written on the outside told Roy that this circle was specifically used for low level human transmutation – perfect for making chimeras.

"So what do they want?" Roy growled, although he already had a pretty good idea.

The doctor sighed again. "They want to be able to make a chimera that looks human, but has the destructive power and strength of something that…isn't." She paused, swallowing. "They want a man who can infiltrate organizations without raising suspicion and take it down from the inside, but also have the means of being the big guns in the ranks when the real war begins."

_They're trying to create the perfect soldier_, Roy thought grimly, his hands clenching along with his gut in anger.

"They're calling these soldiers 'Nostrums'." The doctor paused. "A nostrum is a medicine with unproved effectiveness and unknown ingredients. It's a fancy scientific word for _fake._"

Suddenly, one of the doors on the other side of the room slammed open, in walking a group of men all dressed in black. They dispersed through the room, scientists snapping to attention as men began to take position around the room. Roy saw that one of the men, a particularly well-muscled one with a bald head, had a gray goatee and mustache. _He must be one of the men that captured me_, Roy thought.

One man remained in the center of the room, his thick arms crossed over his broad chest. He had coffee brown skin, and the sides of his head were shaved. The dark orange hair on the top of his head was long and pulled back into a pony tail. But what caught and held Roy's attention of the man was that he had shiny silver eyes and one of his hands was wrapped in a bandage.

"That's Rams." The doctor whispered behind him. "He's in charge of this whole operation."

"Is he the one doing the alchemy, too?"

"…no…" The doctor said very quietly.

Roy's scowl deepened as he set his eyes on the man called Rams. Rams' silver eyes swept the room, making sure everybody was doing their jobs. As he looked within the holding cell with all the prisoners, he locked gazes with Mustang. The man definitely had the look that one gets once they have served in some sort of armed forces. Roy knew this look well. He saw it everyday in his subordinates, in Hughes, and in the mirror. Rams smirked and waved his bandaged hand at the Colonel. Roy spotted his ignition gloves poking out from the belt of Rams pants. He clenched his fists, thinking he would give anything in the world to have those gloves with him so he could burn that smug little grin right off the man's face.

The scientists were consulting with one another as well as with Rams, showing him notes and waving their arms around in big gestures. A couple scientists had brought out buckets of water and splashed them over the transmutation circle on the ground, effectively erasing it. Roy looked back at the doctor.

"The last transmutation failed." She said, reading his question. "Well, it didn't fail, per say. It just didn't result in what they wanted."

Roy nodded and turned back to the process going on. After the circle had been scrubbed away, the scientists began consulting again, this time louder. Roy could only pick up a few words here and there. They said the word 'results' a lot, along with 'compatibility', 'stability', 'duration', and 'nostrum'. The rest was just gobbledygook of medical and biological terms that Mustang didn't understand. Even so, Roy had a pretty good idea of what they were saying; not good enough. _  
_

Roy's heart clenched when one man started walking towards the holding cell. Him and the rest of the prisoners backed away from the bars, but the doctor remained strangely calm, her face cold like steel. The man pulled out some keys and unlocked the metal door, pulling it open with a creak. His eyes were locked on the corner that Mustang and the doctor were sitting in - more specifically on the doctor herself. Mustang found himself sliding into a protective position in front of her. There was no way that he was going to let these wacko's turn his only ally into a chimera. Mustang tensed his muscles, getting ready for a fight.

But the doctor put her hands on his shoulder once again, startling him out of his battlemind. Her eyes were sad when he looked at her. She stood up and shuffled towards the man. Once she was outside the cell, her bounds were undone, and she rubbed her wrists. But the man didn't leave the cell. He scanned the prisoners, all of whom cowered under his gaze. His eyes lingered on Mustang a little while longer. He reached a hand out.

"No! Please, no!" The young man with brown hair that was sitting right next to Mustang screamed as his arm was grabbed. He was pulled to his feet and dragged out of the cell into the room where the doctor was speaking with the scientists, instructing them in drawing a new and slightly altered transmutation circle. The young man struggled the entire time, begging and pleading. But to no avail, all of his strength having been sapped from him due to starvation. He was clasped into the chains that were bolted to the floor, tears streaming down his face. The scientists continued to draw the transmutation circle around him, the rest of the prisoners and the doctor looking on with sorrow in their eyes. But the prisoners also breathed a sigh of relief. They would live until the next test, however long that would be.

The crying man was sniveling in the middle of the now finished transmutation circle. He looked up at the doctor, who stood at the edge of the circle.

"Please…" He whimpered. "I have a wife…I have a wife…"

The man broke down again. The doctor regarded the man sadly as the rest of the scientists backed away. The doors opened again and a man led an animal that looked like a dog with black fur on a chain into the room. It was growling and snarling, pulling on its chain with no apparent strength from being starved for days as well. The man dragged it into the circle and snapped its chains to the ground next to the crying man, keeping its head low. The man stared in shock at the animal. So this was what he was to become?

"Please!" He started again, struggling against his chains. The dog seemed to sense his fear and growled louder, trying to move its legs and head but failing. "Please don't do this! No! No! No!"

Mustang watched with horrified fixation. The doctor stepped up to the circle, tears brimming in her eyes. The man continued to thrash and pull against his chains, both his cries and the animals growls filling the air. Rams, the scientists, and the rest of the people in the room and in the holding cell watched in quiet anticipation. It seemed like the world was holding its breath. Mustang almost missed the doctor's whisper.

"I'm sorry."

She knelt and slammed her hands on the ground into the fresh paint of the circle. The circle blazed to life with blue light, making the rest of the room seem dark in comparison. The man screamed, and the animal shrieked. It was such a horrendous mixture of sound that Roy's very bones seemed to tremble and freeze by fear. The man and the animal began to emit their own light, drinking in the transmutation and breaking down. The doctor had her eyes trained on the forms in front of her, not even blinking. The cries of the man and the dog continued, twisting and combining into one single noise that was so unnatural, Roy thought it was a trick of his ears for a moment.

The light in the room got brighter, both from the transmutation circle as well as from the two beings in the center. The hairs on Mustangs arms stood on end as the electricity filled the air. Mustang closed his eyes and turned his head away just as the light got unbearable. The last thing he saw was the two light beings in the circle beginning to merge into one.

The light was still bright behind his closed eyelids. The sounds were still excruciating. But behind his eyes in supposed darkness, Mustang found it easier to hide. Whether to hide from the horrible act going on just outside or to hide from the guilt of watching an innocent man get warped into a mindless beast and sitting idly by – useless – was something Mustang would ponder for many months to come.

Eventually, the cries and the light died down. Mustang breathed deeply, trying to control his fluttering heart as he opened his eyes. The other prisoners in the cell had closed their eyes as well, huddling against each other for comfort. The scientists, the captors, and Rams, all blinked their eyes open as well. The only person who had kept their eyes open through the whole thing was the doctor, her eyes locked on the newly formed being in the center of the circle, exhaustion and horror glimmering within the green. She gave a nasty curse of disappointment.

Rams stepped forward and knelt by the chimera on the ground. From what Mustang could see, its body was still vaguely human. However, its skin was covered in a thin layering of black fur, and a small muzzle pushed out from the face. Long canines poked out from its upper lip and claws had taken the place of fingernails and toenails. Its eyes – dear God, its eyes – were dazed and confused, the irises blown wide and colored a sickly yellow. Its breathing was labored and raspy, a small whine escaping with every huff.

Rams laid a hand on the chimeras furry side. It immediately began to panic. He patted the creatures side, rubbing it's fur in a comforting manor. Roy couldn't see Rams' eyes, but he didn't doubt that they were anything but comforting. Rams stood and backed away, letting two other men approach the chimera. They cut the ropes around its feet and hands, undid the chains, tied another rope to the one still around its neck, and ushered it to its feet. It wobbled on its hands and knees, not entirely sure whether to walk on two legs or four. It settled for a hunched form on two legs and allowed itself to be lead out of the room.

Mustang looked to the doctor, who was standing up once more. Her eyes were down cast, eyebrows brought together in a scowl. Rams was standing behind her, both hands on her shoulder, whispering in her ear. Whatever he was saying must have been really upsetting, as she frowned even harder and turned her head away from him. She jerked in his grasp, but he held her tight. This went on for a few seconds, as the scientists went around exchanging notes and observations. Roy couldn't tell if any of these people were actual alchemists or not. Everybody knew that alchemy wasn't simply observed and taught; it had to be experienced, felt.

Rams walked around in front of the doctor and shoved something into her arms, disappearing out the door he came in with a few other men. Two men came up to her. One held her arms together as they tied rope around her wrists once again. As she walked back to the cell, head hung, they stopped her at the door, tying her feet where she stood. They opened the door and pushed her into the cell, clanging it shut. The doctor hit the ground hard, her arms still curled protectively around the thing in her arms. She pushed herself up, a small cut on her chin.

Mustang found that he couldn't bring himself to sympathize with her this time. She looked up into his eyes, her own narrowing at the look on his face. He knew his face was dark, angry, and hurt. But could someone really blame him? She had befriended him, given him information, even a tiny bit of hope. But...

"You're working for them?" Mustang hissed. The doctor widened her eyes, face contorting in anger.

"Of course not!" She spat. "I would never work for people like this! People who treat each other like trash and experiments goes against all that I stand for as a doctor!"

"Then what – " Roy jerked his head back to the transmutation circle. " – the hell was that?!"

The doctor fell silent, turning her head to look out the bars. Her eyes were red from tears, or exhaustion, or a combination of both. Roy knew she wasn't doing it willingly. He saw how hard it had been on her, and the way she had turned away from Rams. But she was still doing it. She was still making chimeras for the Sentries. She was still helping them create their perfect soldier. Whatever her reasons were, they could never have been good enough to justify her ruining peoples lives.

Or so Roy thought. After all, he had thought the same thing of himself after Ishval.

"Do you have children, soldier?" The doctor whispered. Mustang stiffened, his silence enough of an answer. "I do. A six-year-old daughter."

She began to weep. _Oh no,_ Mustang thought. He immediately felt bad. He should have remembered that she had a child. After all, it was when they had found the girl without her mother that they had reported the doctor missing.

"I haven't seen her in months." The doctor's voice was tight, higher pitched with sorrow. "Her father is dead. She doesn't have any grandparents, uncles or aunts that she can go to. I am all she has."

The doctor hiccuped, whimpering in sorrowful agony. She uncrossed her arms, revealing a loaf of bread the size of a shoe box. Whipping the black paint off of her hands and onto the ground, she broke the bread, took a pinch of one half in her mouth, and passed the halves – one to Mustang and one to an elderly man who also took a pinch and passed it on as well. Mustang switched his gaze from the bread in his hands to the doctor, who sucked on the bread through her tears. Roy took a pinch as well and passed the bread on to the man behind him. He popped the bread in his mouth as he watched the doctor.

All of his precious anger had diminished. Roy didn't have children, but Hughes did. He had watched that man drive himself crazy whenever Elysia was sick or had a small scratch from playing. He knew a father would do anything for his child. If the bond between father and child was that strong, Mustang could only imagine what it must have been like for the mother, who everybody knew had a much stronger connection. But, it still did not justify her actions to Roy. Could she really tell her child that she had done what she had out of love and desperation? Would that be enough for her? The doctor seemed to be settling down, her shoulders still jumping with the occasional sniffle.

"What's her name?" Roy asked softly. The doctor looked up at him again, her green eyes glassy. She sniffled again and let out a deep sigh.

"Brielle." She said. "She's named after my sister, who died in the plague years ago."

Roy nodded, remembering fully well the red plague that swept over Amestris. It was the same plague that had taken Trisha Elric from her sons. He placed his hands on top of the doctors trembling ones.

"Your daughter, Brielle, is staying with a friend from your work if I recall correctly. A Ms. Thatcher, I think?"

The doctor looked up at this, surprise in her eyes. Roy tried not to make it sound like good news, just in case it wasn't. Her face was unreadable for a long time, and Roy began to think he probably should have just kept his mouth shut. But then her mouth cracked into a smile, a small chuckle escaping her lips.

"She's not so much a friend from work as she is a lunch and coffee break buddy." The doctor said, whipping a tear from her cheek. "But I trust her with Brielle. She has two kids of her own. I'm glad she's being looked after. Thank you."

Roy breathed a sigh of relief, feeling good about himself. Now that the doctor knew that her daughter was okay, would she cease her experimentation? Or would she try harder to reach the Sentries goal so she could get back to her daughter? From the hard look in her eye, Roy had to regretfully assume that it was the latter. But, again, Roy understood. If she began fighting back and refusing to do the transmutations, who's to say they wouldn't just kill her and find someone else to do it? Roy let out a deep breath, closing his eyes. This was some fine mess he had gotten himself into.

He felt a tapping on his shoulder behind him. He turned to see the man behind him offering the pecked off loaf of bread which had made its way back around. Roy took the bread and looked at it. Who knew how often these people got fed? Was it a loaf of bread between all of them every day? Or was it scarcer than that? Deciding he was healthy enough to skip a bite this time around, he handed the bread to the doctor. She took it from him, breaking off a pinch smaller than the first one she had taken. Roy watched her suck on the bread and pass it on to the elder next to her.

"What is _your _name?" Roy found himself asking. He had been trying to remember the doctor's name ever since he recognized her. He thought it started with a 'g' or an 'a', but he wasn't entirely sure.

The doctor smiled at him, but her eyes and the tone of her voice had once again dropped to a serious level.

"It may not be best to get to know me too well, soldier." She said. "I've already told you too much. Just call me Doc."

"Why did you tell me, then?" The sudden look that crossed her face was one Roy had not been expecting to see: reliance.

"Partially because you asked. But also... I think it's because I think you can help us." She paused. "I think you can help me." She said it in a manor akin to hope, but Roy's mind went to a darker place.

"Help you with what exactly?"

The smile slipped from her face as she followed his train of thought. Would she be his ally, his sister in arms, and fight back against their captors? Or would he be just another one of her desperate attempts to get back to her daughter, and another step closer to the Sentries ultimate goal?

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see, soldier."

* * *

A/N: Thank you to **_SapphireClaw_ **for reviewing! My beta request still stands.

So, about the doctor; I tried REALLY hard not to make her a Mary Sue(I had to look up what that was, and got mixed results). If she seems like one, please tell me and I'll see what I can do. Once again, this story isn't supposed to have pairings, so you guys don't have to worry about RoyxOC happening. I am keeping her nameless for a couple of reasons;

1. She's not really that important to the story line. It seems like she is right now, but she's really just a way for me to get from point A to point B with this story. She'll disappear for a long time and then show back up again at the end when everything gets resolved.

2. Doc is just her title, and pretty soon that is going to change as well. I want her character to NOT be permanent, you know what I mean? She will be in a constant state of change... literally.

Rams is obviously the antagonist of this story. The poll results have spoken. Thanks to the people who voted!

As always, read, review, and enjoy!


	3. Panacea

Big thanks to _**SapphireClaw**_ who stepped up to help beta!

* * *

_When we have found the remedy to our aches, illnesses and difficulties... then, my friends, we will have our panacea._

* * *

Roy quickly acclimated to the schedule of the captors and life in the cell.

Every other day, they would do a transmutation. The day in between, both Roy and Doc figured, was so that she, Rams, and the other scientists could rest. Each time they would erase the transmutation circle, and Doc would draw a new one. Each time, the chimera's came out looking a _little _more human than the last. But Roy could see that progress was excruciatingly slow. After each failed transmutation, Rams would speak with Doc. She usually wouldn't say anything, just glaring at him in hard silence. Then he would give her either bread, beef jerky, or water, and she would come back to the cell to share it. Roy wasn't too sure about her, but none of the other prisoners in the cell hated or feared the doctor. They had said that they could all see how desperate she was. A few other prisoners were parents themselves, and said that if they had had the means, then they would be doing the exact same thing.

"You'll understand when you have kids," one woman **-** who had later been turned into a chimera with a rabbit - had said. "But she's not just living for herself anymore. She's got a young life, barely adjusted to the world, that needs her. Born of her own flesh and blood. To her, or any mother, it is her biggest and most important responsibility."

Roy still didn't understand, his own parents having been killed when he was four. But he did still remember the day when the police had come knocking at his door, hesitantly telling of the terrible accident that had claimed his parent's lives. He hadn't spoken or eaten for days, craving his mothers hold and his fathers strength. But back then, he had had his aunt to take him in and help him move on. Brielle had no one.

Roy suspected that most of the prisoners tolerated Doc because she was their only source of nutrition, regardless of what they said.

Doc didn't know where they took the chimeras after they were created, but she suspected that they were either locked in cages or put down in another room. Doc sincerely hoped it was the former, because half of the reason her progress was going so slow, unbeknownst to the rest of the scientists and Rams, was that all of her transmutations so far could be easily reversed and undone.

"One day, when either I succeed or someone busts us out of here, I'm going to take all these chimeras whose lives I've ruined and return them back to normal." Doc said with a hard look in her eye. "The only problem is that that keeps the circles really simple, and not very good at complex combinations."

"You know how to reverse chimeras?" Roy asked in awe. He had always thought it was nigh impossible to separate two combined animals. Doc rolled her eyes.

"Of course. We tests out new medicinal alchemy on animals to make sure it works all the time. If the animal doesn't die, then we can simply reverse it and start all over again."

She made it sound simple, but Roy couldn't even imagine how complicated that process was. And that last bit about the test subject possibly dying had not inspired much confidence in Roy. But knowing that the doctor was planning to restore the chimeras to their original form had stepped her up one rung on Mustang's respect ladder.

The days dwindled away. Mustang figured at least a week had passed by and he still didn't know much in regards of why the Sentries were forcing the doctor to do what she was doing. An even better question was why hadn't they used him in the transmutations as of yet. Roy wasn't complaining or anything, but each time a guard came to retrieve a prisoner, their eyes would lock on Mustang for a long time making him think that his time had come. But then they would choose someone else. Doc had noticed this trend as well from her position outside the bars.

One day after a transmutation, as Rams was speaking to Doc, saying whatever it was that always made her upset and then giving her a canteen of water, she had stopped him as he was walking away. She was facing away from Roy, so he couldn't hear her words very well, but she pointed back at the cell where Roy was on his knees watching the whole thing. Rams looked at Roy, his eyes a little confused and surprised. He said something to Doc, who clenched her fists at her sides, saying something Roy could only guess was either a threat or a plea. Whichever it was, Rams smiled, locked gazes with Roy again, speaking to Doc as he walked back through the door that they had just lead another newly made lizard-chimera through.

Doc was shoved back into the cell, and Roy moved to block her fall. But he was too late and she once again hit the ground hard, and once again she scrambled to her knees. Doc sniffed, screwed the lid off of the canteen, took a little sip and passed it to the elder that hadn't moved since the day Roy had come to the cell.

"So what was that all about?" Roy asked. He watched the water circle through the cell. He wasn't completely starved just yet, but his stomach constantly growled, his tongue was dry, and his gut was starting to hurt. He found it hard to keep himself from being greedy, trying not to take too big of gulps or too large of bites.

"I asked Rams what he was planning to do with you." Doc said.

Roy snapped his head around, meeting Doc's hard gaze. "And?"

"They're keeping you on reserve." Doc said darkly. "Rams said that you were chosen to be one of the first Nostrums."

Roy's mind immediately flashed back to the night he had been abducted, which seemed so far away now. Rams had said something eerily similar just before he had lost consciousness.**  
**

"I guess that means that as soon as I find a way to make these chimeras, then you are going to be the one that they send into the battle first." Doc sighed, watching Mustang closely.

Roy was once again reminded of the friend/enemy relationship he had with this woman. They were each others possible salvation, yet they were also each others imminent doom. Roy clenched his fists, turning his head way from Doc so she couldn't see the frustration in his eyes.

"There's something else, soldier." Doc continued. "Something else I've noticed lately; they haven't brought in anymore people for a quite a while."

Roy looked around the cell, just as the water circled back to him. While he slowly sipped the water that brought relief to his parched tongue, he did a head count of the people in the cell. When he had arrived, it had been about thirty people. Now, it was ranging in the low twenties.

"Isn't that technically a good thing?" Roy asked, turning back to Doc and handing her the canteen.

"I suppose technically, yes." Doc took a small sip. "But, it might not be a good thing for us. If they stop bringing in new people, sooner or later, they're going to run out of tests subjects."

Roy wasn't following.

"When it gets down to just you and me and I still haven't found a way to create a Nostrum, what do you think they will do with us?"

Now Roy understood. The scientists and Rams were getting frustrated and angry with the slow progress. He knew this scare tactic well, his foster mom had used it on him when he was little, and Hughes only rarely used it on Elysia. It was a trick as old as time and brought out the most obedient in people.

"They're a countdown." Roy whispered. They were trying to scare the doctor into progressing faster by giving her limited transmutations and planting the idea that something bad would happen to her – or Brielle – if she didn't do what she was supposed to by the time the numbers hit zero. Only this time, it wasn't just a tactic – the threat was real. Doc nodded, her next words spoken strangely calm.**  
**

"We are running out of time." Her eyes moved to the transmutation circle that had yet to be erased. "I am running out of options."

Roy sat back and sighed, adjusting the cloth that used to be the decorative partial skirt of his military trousers that he had ripped off and draped over his shoulders to make up for his lack of shirt in the chilled air. Doc had gone to sit in her corner and think, just like she always did whenever a transmutation was finished, drinking the water little by little as it came around to her. Roy didn't know if she thought about what she could do to the circle to improve the results of her chimeras, or if her head was filled with longing for her little girl. Seeing as her face would be cold as stone one minute and then tears brimming in her eyes the next, Roy figured it was a little of both. But Roy also did a lot of thinking of his own.

With this new information and state of mind, Roy was even more desperate to find a way out of this hell house he was in. He ran through every possible escape that he could think of with the information that he had, running a few ideas by Doc when he came up with them. So far, in the days that he didn't bother to count anymore, this was what he had learned: the only way out was through the door that everyone came in and out of, only three people had a set of keys to the cell door, there were _even more_ men guarding the halls and corridors on the other side of the door twenty-four hours a day, all the men except for Rams were taking steroids(explaining their strength on the night they had taken Mustang), and the Doc was pretty sure they were underground.

Roy was beginning to think it was impossible. But then the doctor told him this: whenever there was a transmutation, the number of men in the hallways was significantly reduced, as most came into the lab to make sure the prisoners, the test subject, and Doc behaved themselves. If he could get past Rams and his men in the room and make a break for it, it might just be possible to find an exit and break free for help. This meant that the most opportune time to escape would have to have been when a transmutation was occurring.

Or rather, more specifically, when _his _transmutation was occurring. He couldn't hope to leave the cell otherwise. And even if he could, like if the guard had left the door open or something, he wouldn't make it very far. If he tried to navigate to the door in the four second window when the light from the transmutation made everybody close their eyes, it was still a good distance across the room to the door, about forty feet. He would be seen and caught before he reached the door.

_But_, that distance was cut by more than half when from within the middle of the transmutation circle. The transmutation circle was only about ten feet in diameter, and Mustang guessed it was about ten or fifteen feet away from the far wall – the same wall with the only door. The closest Mustang knew he was ever going to get to the door, and his best chance of escape, was when they decided to turn him into a Nostrum chimera.

He had shared this idea with Doc, but she scowled at him.

"I would rather not wait until all these people have been turned into chimeras before you attempt to escape." Doc spat.

"What do you think they're going to do with the extra people after you find a way to create a Nostrum? After you succeed, after you've helped them with whatever terrible thing they've been planning, and ruined my life in the process, what do you think they'll do with the people who have seen what's going on here?" Roy countered, getting irritated. "They sure as hell aren't going to let them go, I can tell you that much!"

Doc withdrew from Mustangs raised voice, coiling in on herself. She dropped her eyes to the side, her voice trembled when she spoke.

"I guess… I never really thought about it like that before…" She said softly.

Roy simmered down. In a way, this woman reminded him a lot of Fullmetal. She was incredibly smart, young enough to be considered a prodigy, and she was trying to find a way to save everyone. Roy liked it when people like Doc and Ed were still hopeful and naïve enough to think that the world was full of sunshine and goodness. But he, and many others including Maes and Hawkeye had discovered long ago that that was far from the truth.

"You may be doing some terrible things to these people," Roy said, keeping the truth blunt, which made the doctor flinch. "But, in more ways than one, you are also keeping them alive."

That was assuming that they didn't kill the chimeras after they were made.

Doc squeezed her eyes shut, nodding her head as she acknowledged the living paradox she had become. Roy, not for the first time, felt sorry for her. At night, or whenever it was that they slept, Roy had awoken to the sound of Doc softly crying out her daughters name. He would nudge her with his knee or elbow and she would jump awake with a start. Then she would spend the rest of the time before the scientists came back just sitting in silence, staring at the transmutation circle beyond the bars.

"But is it better to die a human or to live as a monster?" Doc asked suddenly. Roy wasn't sure if she was asking him directly or if she was just thinking out loud. Nevertheless, he put his hands on her back, rubbing soothing circles on her hunched form.

"Life, no matter how twisted, should always be cherished." Roy said, his tone soft. "And besides, you'll be able to reverse them, won't you?"

"For now, yes." Doc said, barely holding back tears. "But I might just have to give up on that idea if I ever want to make progress on these Nostrums. Like I said, I'm running out of options."

Roy frowned. "If you do that, then the Sentries win, and all your work will have been for nothing."

Roy could feel her muscles tense as the emotional and mental turmoil that she had no doubt experienced for the last few months descended upon her. Should she succeed, at the potential cost of irreversible chimeras and therefore handfuls of human lives, or should she be a martyr, and deny the Sentries their perfect soldier, but also deny a little girl of her mother and only living family?

"Leave me alone for a while." Doc said, moving out from Mustang's touch and into a corner of the cell. "I need to think."

The days went on, the number of people in the cell dwindled. Progress was still excruciatingly slow, so slow that at one point, Roy thought that Doc had actually taken a step backwards. The chimeras were looking more and more human every time; fur didn't coat their bodies, and they didn't have muzzles or beaks anymore. But claws and fangs were stubborn, as well as pointed ears and predatory eyes, along with other traits associated with the different animals that they had at their disposal. Not human enough. Not _near_ human enough.

Roy leaned against the wall of the cell. His stomach had stopped grumbling days ago, a consistent heat taking its place that was both comfortable but annoying at the same time. Roy wondered just exactly how many days had gone by since he'd been abducted. Did he have a bio in the missing person's section of the newspapers now alongside Doc? Was his team looking for him? Did Fullmetal know by now as well? Hawkeye was probably worried sick. Or ragging mad. Roy smirked at that, turning his head to look at the people remaining in the cell. The elder, who had been there with Roy since day one, hadn't opened his eyes in a couple days. Roy wondered if he was dead. But then Roy remembered that yesterday Doc had managed to coax some chewed up jerky into his mouth, which he eventually swallowed. Roy looked past him to the rest of the people in the cell.

There were only five people left. Two men, two women, and the elder. Roy wondered just exactly when the numbers had dwindled so low. Doc was beginning to feel the pressure. It seemed that she had hit a block in making chimeras. No matter what she tried, they came out looking like the last; just barely human, but not human enough. Roy could see that she was getting frustrated. And who wouldn't be? Time was running out.

Right now, Doc had just finished transmuting a young woman - not part of the five people that there were now - with a large bird, like a falcon or an eagle. When the light died down, and everyone opened their eyes, she was lying on the ground, her breath huffing and wheezing. Her fingers had formed into talons and her toes had curled out with black sharp claws as well, a small patch of feathers resided on both cheeks, and a high-pitched keening sound escaped her throat.

Rams knelt down next to her, like he had with all the others before her. Her frightened gold eyes looked up at him. Then Rams stepped away, and a few men stepped up to her. They tied the lead rope to the rope around her neck, jerking it a few times to get her to her feet. She got to her hands and knees, trying to orient herself to her new body. She situated her feet under her, her taloned-toes splaying out in front of her. She balanced herself on the balls of her feet, and was lead out of the room.

This time, Rams didn't even talk to Doc. He just looked at her, and she glared back. Rams turned to look at Roy in the cell, and frowned. He walked out of the room, without giving her food or water. Doc was rebound, and shoved back into the cell. Roy had gotten into the habit of catching her when she fell, so she wouldn't hurt herself even further. She was grateful to not have her face banged up, but this time, after she had fallen onto Mustangs arms and lap, she scrambled up and away from him quickly. She was breathing hard, her eyes wild as she looked over the remaining people in the cell. The five of them plus Roy stared back at her. She turned and crawled to the bars of the cell, peering out at the transmutation circle she had just stood at. Her face was bordering hysterical, her hands gripped the bars tightly, turning white.

What happened next was something Roy would never forget.

Everyone, including the scientists who lingered about after the transmutation, jumped as Doc gave a blood curdling scream and slammed her head against the bars. Her cry filled the room along with the reverberating clang, and Roy could feel it vibrating his heart with its sheer panic and hopelessness. Doc leaned back and slammed her head against the bars again, this time making blood fly and she split her forehead open. Mustang leapt at her, grabbing her and pulling her away before she could do it again. She thrashed and kicked in his grasp so much that Roy was having a hard time keeping hold of her. She rolled away from him and this time made a dash for the wall. She leapt up off her feet and launched herself at the wall, cracking her head against it with such force that dust trickled down from the ceiling.

Mustang grabbed at her again, latching onto her ankles and dragging her away from the wall as she screamed and protested. The other prisoners – save for the old man – grabbed her too, holding her down with their weak muscles. But Doc was weak too, and her struggles did little against the five people holding her down. Eventually she stopped, weeping and shivering on the concrete floor. Mustang and the rest of the prisoners were shaken from Doc's sudden break down. They looked at each other, and then all their gazes eventually settled on Roy. He looked down at Doc, determined that she wasn't going to hurt herself again, and nodded at the rest of the prisoners. They backed away slowly, crawling back to their spots in the cell with sad looks back at Doc.

Doc was staring at the ceiling, tears pooling in her eyes, jaw clenched shut and trembling. She had a large cut in her forehead that bled freely as well as cuts across her nose and under her eye. Her blond hair was matted with blood, the dark crimson was in such dark contrast with her eyes that the blood along with the tears in her eyes made them seem like they were glowing. Roy moved closer to her head, moving her upper body to rest on top of his tattered military trousers. She turned so her back was facing him, but settled into him. Roy took his tattered skirt-made-cowl from his shoulders and draped it over her. He was not very good at comforting people. Rubbing backs was about as good as he got. So he did that now, but he suspected that the effect had long ago worn off. If it had, and Roy was just wasting his energy by doing so, Doc gave no sign of it.

They stayed like that for a while, Doc silently crying in Roy's lap while he numbly rubbed circles into her back. The rest of the scientists had left after the debacle, and it was quiet all around. Doc stopped shivering, and her breathing had steadied out. Her eyes were still open, staring blankly at the circle beyond the bars. Roy was just about to fall asleep when Doc spoke up.

"Brielle would be turning seven soon." She said quietly. "I was going to surprise her with a puppy. She had been begging for one for months. I had one all picked out, a female golden retriever puppy from a rescue agency. They kept her on reserve for me, but I don't know how long ago that was."

Roy chuckled at that. He could remember when he had berated his aunt non-stop for an animal when he was young as well.

"When I was a child, the only animals I could claim were three red Koi fish with long white fins in a tank in my parents living room." Doc smiled gently, as if the memory was pleasant to her. "Do you have any pets, soldier?" She asked suddenly. Roy thought about that question for a while.

"I did, when I was around nine years old." He stated, letting the memories come back. "I had a pet salamander that lasted a good ten years before it died. She was missing a leg when I first found her, but then within a couple weeks the leg had completely grown back."

Doc smiled at that. "My firm has always been trying to find a way to pass salamanders' amazing regenerative ability into humans. They can grow back legs, organs, even eyeballs."

"It gets better." Roy grinned. "There are old legends that salamanders are impervious to fire, can even be engulfed in flame without getting injured."

"I've heard those legends." Doc said, turning on her side to look up at him. "Apparently the salamander is born of flame, and they are the elementals for fire. They can make their own fire from within as well."

"I was studying alchemy when I had her." Roy said. "I came across a book called 'The History of Flame and its Evolution' by one Berthold Hawkeye. The very first chapter described how fire was brought to man by these flaming lizards that nestled amongst the coals and remained unharmed by the flames. I was hooked instantly. I remember it was after I read that book that I decided that I wanted to find this Hawkeye man and study under him."

"You… studied flame alchemy?" Doc asked quietly. She looked up at him, wonder in her eyes. Roy and Doc had decidedly kept their names from each other, and she had compensated by always calling him 'soldier'. But now, with that little bit of information added to what she already knew about him, Roy figured that she had just realized who he was. He smiled down at her, giving her a nod and a wink.

"If I had known what I was getting into beforehand, I might have gone with a different type of alchemy." Roy said rolling his eyes. Doc continued staring at him. "So many late nights studying, burning my fingers to crisps, and I can't even count how many times I had to grow my eyebrows back." Doc chuckled at that. "I'm not saying that flame alchemy is hard, but it is _very_ complex. Calculating air densities and oxygen content, knowing how to fuel and direct the fire, dealing with arrays within arrays, and _so_ many different ways to do the same thing. It's like trying to understand women."

Doc had gone very still. She sat up, her wounded head leaving a blood stain on Roy's right leg and the cowl falling from her shoulders. She turned to face him slowly, her eye were wide with something Roy could not identify. He immediately began to think that he had offended her in some way.

"What did you say?" She asked, her voice in a whisper. Roy gulped.

"Don't get me wrong, I would much rather prefer to understand women than-"

"No, no not that." Doc cut him off, she put her hands on his arm, keeping her gaze locked on him as if her life depended on it. "That part about… arrays within arrays?"

Roy was confused. What was she getting at? Did she think that this could help her in some way?

"Well, yeah. There are a lot of aspects to flame alchemy, and one array isn't enough to cover it. So I use smaller arrays within a large one. The supports are inside each other as well." Roy explained, thinking back to the array on his glove, which he noted had a salamander on it. "Triangles, since I'm only manipulating air and heat, but I have triangles within triangles with the arrays I use."

Doc dropped her gaze to the side, away from Mustang and to the corner. But her eyes were unseeing. They were distant and cloudy, like how eyes get whenever someone is thinking really hard about something. Her mouth dropped open a little as she gasped. Mustang could practically see her thought process clicking into place in her eyes. He could see the answer – whatever it was – forming there, just behind her sight. Roy didn't know if he should be excited or anxious.

"That's it." She whispered softly. "That's…that's the answer."

She spun around and grabbed the bars, staring at the transmutation circle on the other side. Roy watched her, the calculations and measurements scrolling themselves across her face. Roy got to his knees and shuffled over to her, putting a hand on hers.

"What is it?" Roy asked. "What are you talking about?"

Doc looked at him, her eyes bright with hope and triumph. She smiled at him. Roy didn't know if he should have read that smile as a reassuring smile, or as an insane grin. Either way, Roy took his hand off of her and leaned away, overwhelmed by her sudden change in demeanor.

"I know how to make a Nostrum." Doc said, her eyes and smile getting bigger. "I know how to make a reversible Nostrum."

* * *

A/N: I just realized that Rams is a man who has a last name that is an animal, like Mustang. That was NOT intentional, I swear! And yes, he does have a first name. I just don't know what it is yet...(open to suggestions)

So there is a lot of information in this chapter, and time goes by really fast because I wanted to hurry up and get to the good stuff... which will be next chapter (hehe). After that, time will slow down.

I also want to make one thing clear: The Nostrums are NOT like the kind of chimeras that Jelso and Heinkle and the others were turned into. They will not be able to turn into animals... not on purpose, anyway. Nostrums are mainly created for their strength, speed, accelerated senses, and other attributes most animals have but humans don't. Got it? Good.

As always, read, review, and enjoy! Seriously though, review.


	4. Anamnesis

_Do not let this anamnesis trap you in the past and keep you from looking towards the future, for there is where true strength lies.  
_

* * *

Within alchemy, there exists what is called a 'dud transmutation circle'.

It doesn't take a genius to figure out what it does; absolutely nothing. But it produces light and electricity and gives all the signs that an alchemical reaction is happening. It was using one of these that Roy and Doc planned to make their escape. They plotted all the next day when there were no scientists to listen in, going over every little detail, the other prisoners listening intently. In regards to them, Doc had regretfully agreed to the fact that the best way to make sure that they were not killed if they succeeded would be to turn them into chimeras, ironically enough. The most likely case was that they would be locked in cages and left alone, to later be used as body guards or research material. That was usually what happened with most chimeras.

The other prisoners, though not too happy about it, had surprisingly accepted the inevitable rather quickly. They all knew that they were too weak and starved to make it very far in the escape attempt, and they would risk getting killed in the action by slowing everybody down.

"Just promise us," One man spoke up, his voice calm and controlled. "That you will come back for us."

The others shared the same look about them, serious and entrusting, placing their lives cautiously in Doc's hands. Tears welled in her eyes, overcome by the faith they had in her and their confidence in her abilities. Roy too was impressed and emotionally moved.

"I promise." Doc said, her voice wavering. "I will definitely come back for all of you, and I'll make everything right."

The old man hadn't spoken up or made any indication that he was listening the entire time. Roy began to worry that maybe he really was dead this time. When Doc had checked on him, his breathing was very shallow. If he wasn't dead within then next day, then it wouldn't be long after that. Roy frowned sadly at the old timer, hating the fact that his last days would be lived out as a prisoner and test subject. But there were more important things to be concerned with, and not enough time for such sorrowful thoughts.

The plan was that, after the other prisoners were "safe", Doc would draw one last transmutation circle, this time one with a dud incorporated somewhere in the design. After assuring Rams and the scientists that it was the circle that would create their Nostrums – which, in fact, it would be – they would undoubtedly retrieve Roy from the cell and take him to the circle. In the idea that Doc was going to turn him into a chimera, she would, in actuality simply activate the dud. They were hoping that there would be enough light and electricity to make people think that a transmutation was happening and everyone would close their eyes like they always did.

That was when they would make their move.

Roy wasn't entirely sure what they were going to do once they got to the other side of the doors, but he knew it would involve a lot of running. If they could find a window or some stairs that would give them an idea of how to get out of the facility they were in, then that was great. The less time they spent running around in circles, the better. Roy was almost tempted to try and snatch his gloves from Rams' belt when his eyes were closed so he could snap whatever obstacles they met into oblivion, but he knew that that would just be pushing his luck. Assuming that they somehow did make it out and safely away, it was only a matter of finding the nearest town and contacting headquarters.

It was a terrible, fool-hardy, and stupid plan. But it was all that they had.

The next day, when the scientists and men came into the room, Mustang could tell there was a high-strung feeling in the air. Everyone was tense and anxious. As to why the Sentries were so paranoid, Mustang didn't know. But he knew that he, Doc, and the rest of the prisoners were becoming antsy to the possibility of liberating themselves from the Sentries in the near future. Everyone looked to Doc and Roy, who stared back. A silent message passed between them. _Don't forget about us_. Roy and Doc nodded, setting their resolve to match their determination. Then one of the men came over to the cell to fetch Doc.

After her bonds had been cut, she immediately walked up to Rams, glaring up at him. They talked quietly for a little, his facial expression changing from annoyance to surprise. Rams called out to all the scientists and the men, who wandered closer and gathered around Doc. They shuffled every now and then at what she said, then, in a great commotion, scattered about the room performing various tasks. Some erased the circle on the floor from a couple of days ago, but most left the room with a couple of men, returning with every kind of animal that they had within their possession.

All manner of beast was brought into the room, large and small. Some were kept in aquariums, others were lead into the room on lead ropes and leashes. Roy, in all his life had never seen so many free standing animals in one room. Doc did not seem surprised with the assortment that she was presented with. They lined the animals all along the room, snorting and growling as they waited to be chosen for the last few chimera combinations. As they did this, more scientists helped to redraw the transmutation circle. It took much more time than it had in the past, and Mustang could see that the circle was _much_ more intricate than any of the previous circles. There were three different arrays, all set into each other. No doubt the fruits of Doc's little epiphany when Roy had told her about arrays within arrays.

But Roy knew only two of them were actually used in the transmutation. The third and outermost circle was the dud, only giving off light and sparks, cleverly disguised to look like a human transmutation circle. The other two were elaborate, many words and symbols within the circles. The words were meaningless to Roy, but he didn't doubt the untapped power that they held for Doc. The woman knew what she was doing.

First they came for one of the women, a fine haired middle-aged specimen. Despite knowing that it was what was best for her, she still screamed and struggled when the thug came up to her and grabbed her bound wrists. As she was dragged past Roy, she reached out to him. He tried to give her his most reassuring smile, wanting to convey to her that everything would be okay sooner or later. But he wasn't entirely sure that it worked, as he himself wasn't too sure in that thought.

She was plopped down in the middle of the circle, the chains clasped onto her then undone wrists. She didn't struggle against them, only sat sniveling on the ground, looking at Doc. Doc stared back evenly, even going so far as to giving her a small nod of encouragement when nobody was looking. Roy and the rest of the prisoners watched as one of the scientists surveyed the line of animals in the room, deciding which animal to transmute. Doc turned and surveyed the line as well. She pointed the scientist to a small rodent cage that held a small, fluffy grey animal with large ears and a plush tail. The doctor gave her a look, but removed the animal from the cage and brought it to the circle.

The chinchilla must have been particularly starved, as it did not move when the scientists set it on the ground next to the woman. It sniffed the ground tiredly, looked up at the woman, then curled in on itself, oblivious to the world of pain it was about to be introduced to. The woman stared down at it sadly, and reached a hand out to stroke the little creature that was too weak to do nothing but flinch slightly at her touch. It was then that Doc touched her hands to the circle and the room was lit up with alchemy.

When the light and the screams died down, the woman lay in the middle of the circle. From where Roy was sitting, she looked completely human. But after further observation, he saw that her hair had taken on a gray shade similar to what the chinchilla's fur had been, her ears were pointed, and there was just the slightest hint of buck teeth and claws. Not human enough. But so very, agonizingly close. She seemed more stable, and looked up at Doc with a knowing gaze. She gulped as a rope was tied to the rope around her neck and she rose to her feet, grimacing as her muscles readjusted themselves, and she was lead out of the room, casting one glance back to the cell and Roy. Then she was gone.

Instead of erasing the entire transmutation circle, Doc directed the scientists in only scrubbing away parts of it. They repainted the variations, and a man returned to the cell to collect another prisoner, this time picking the other woman who had dark hair and dark eyes and was probably older than Mustang. She in turn went through relatively the same process, this time being combined with a common house cat. The result was relatively the same as well. She too shared a look with the Doc after becoming a chimera, and was lead out of the room.

This time, when the man came back to the cell, he stopped in front of the old man. He nudged the elder with his toe, saying something under his breath. When the man didn't so much as move, he leaned down and shoved the man to the side. The old man fell limply onto his side, his eyes never opening.

"I think this one's dead." He called out to the Sentries.

"Then chose a different one." Rams said dismissively.

The man looked at Roy, their eyes meeting for a few seconds. Roy's eyes narrowed into a glare as the man turned away to grab one of the last two remaining men. After he was dragged of the cell, Roy and the last remaining prisoner slowly approached the old man's body. It didn't really come as a surprise to either of them, but a sadness still itched at their hearts.

The man that had been taken was combined with a snake, the only differences this time being that his nose was a little flatter, his eyes had slit pupils, and his tongue was forked. Very subtle traits that everyday people wouldn't take mind to, but not subtle enough to be considered a Nostrum. He was lead out of the room, his breaths coming in small hisses. Doc was getting very picky now in how the transmutation circle was corrected. At one point she became so frustrated that she shooed the scientist who was correcting the circle away and picked up the paintbrush herself, meticulously working to form the design just perfectly. She stood again, nodding at the man to bring the last subject.

As he entered the cell, Roy and the last prisoner, a man with sandy brown hair and burgundy eyes who was probably in his late fifties, locked gazes. This was it. As soon as this guy was taken away and Roy and Doc were in the clear, then the plan would be set into motion. Roy felt tightness in his chest and a dryness in his throat as the near future loomed upon him. Roy didn't want to get his hopes up too high, as he wasn't entirely confident that the plan would pull through. But the look that the man gave him seemed to steady his heart and his breathing slowed. The mans face was deadly serious, his eyebrows drawn together and his mouth slightly scowled. _Get out of here alive, _his eyes said to Roy. _That's an order, soldier._

Then he was taken away. Roy steeled himself. If he had to focus on one thing in the next few minutes, then it would probably be that look just now. That silent order somehow made it much easier for Mustang to prepare himself for what was to come. So when the man was combined with a hawk, and the only change he showed was his piercing yellow eyes that didn't look human in any way, Roy centered himself. If he wasn't trying to escape for himself or Doc, then he was trying to escape for that man, the old man, and all the other prisoners-turned-chimera that were locked away somewhere.

Doc was kneeling on the floor making one tiny adjustment to the circle, changing one letter, with Rams glaring over her shoulder. She stood, looked over the circle one last time, and nodded. She turned around to face Rams.

"This is it." She said loud and clear. "This is the Nostrum array."

Rams narrowed his eyes at the circle. "For your sake, it better be."

Then he motioned for his man to bring Roy out of the cell.

Roy was hoisted to his feet rather easily, having lost weight in the past month or two that he had been nearly starved. Of course when the numbers dwindled down, that meant more food for the rest of them, but he and Doc had always taken as little as possible, wanting to leave most for the other prisoners. Now he was dragged outside the cell, his knees cracking from not being stretched out in so long. They cut the ropes on his feet so he could walk on his own, and Roy had to resist the urge to kick out. Two men grabbed each of his arms and held him up. Rams and Roy regarded each other. Rams still had Roy's gloves tucked away in his belt loop, almost taunting Roy with how close they were.

Rams turned away from Roy and saw Doc seemingly picking out an animal with which to make the first Nostrum.

"No no," He said, interrupting her. "We'll use that one."

He pointed at the far end of the room where a large beast with antlers was tied off. The deer was larger than the ones Roy had seen in the Central or Eastern woods, its fur much thicker. It was colored a white at its head and brown through the rest of its body. Roy recognized it as a species of deer found in North Amestris, called a caribou.

"Why that one?" Doc asked, echoing Roy's thoughts.

"It's strong, it's fast, and it is resilient. Perfect attributes for a Nostrum." Rams said as the animal was untied and lead into the circle.

"I'm sure there are plenty of other animals that are better suited to the task," Doc argued. Both she and Roy could see the appeal, but it wasn't Roy's first choice in chimera ingredients for those certain attributes. And certainly not within his top ten of animals he would want to be combined with, either.

"Believe me, it'll be fine." Rams said with a sneer. Just hearing the guy talk was making Mustang mad. Roy prepared himself to be strapped into the chains in the middle of the circle with the animal. They looked like shackles that he could easily slip – a few tricks he had picked up from the days of his youth coming back to him. But the men holding him held fast, keeping him in place. Doc looked just as confused as Roy felt. She pointed at him.

"You told me he would be the first Nostrum, right?" Doc stated, looking Rams in the eye.

"He will be one, I guarantee." Rams said, smiling at Roy in a way that made Roy want to groan. "But he is not the first."

Doc blinked in confusion at that. "He's not? Then who is? We don't have anymore test subjects."

Rams just smiled at her confusion. Roy got a bad feeling in his stomach. Then he gasped, as he realized what Rams was about to do, one step ahead of the unsuspecting doctor.

"You are, my dear." Rams said.

Doc was not quick to overcome her confusion, and one of the Sentries came up behind her and grabbed her, pinning her arms to her sides. Roy called out to her, jerking against his holders.

"Hey!" She cried out. "Let me go! What do you think you are doing?"

"Unfortunately, the military has been getting closer and closer to finding us for the past week. We are a little short on time, and cannot afford to leave any loose ends." Explained Rams, making sense of the tension Mustang had felt in the air when all the scientists had arrived. "You are one of those loose ends. We figured this would be the best way to ensure your silence. Everyone knows chimeras can't do alchemy."

They strapped the doctor into the middle of the circle with the caribou, her eyes wild as she found herself on the other side of the procedure.

"Who's going to do the transmutation?" She spat. "It has to be someone with considerable knowledge of human and animal anatomy, so it can't be him." At this last part, she tossed her head at Roy.

"How right you are." Rams crooned. "Which is why we've had one of our own alchemists watching you very closely for the last few of months. He's considered a genius in medicinal alchemy, too. Not nearly as much of a genius as you, but he will do."

The man with the silver goatee stepped up to the transmutation circle. Throughout Mustang's entire stay, the man had never said a thing. He would stand against the wall and watch the room just like all of the other men, making Mustang think he was just another goon. He had not used any alchemy the night he had helped capture Mustang either. His muscles were bulged from steroid use, his eyes were unclear. But yet he surveyed the circle with a knowing eye.

"Looks simple enough." The man said in a very deep voice. "Just gotta make sure I don't over or under absorb the animal."

Doc was frozen with shock, her eyes wide and she wasn't breathing. Roy's mind was working in overdrive as well, trying to strategize a new plan of escape in an instant. But there was no way he could break the hold of his captors and rush over to unchain Doc without getting caught again. He would have to leave her behind, but in his mind, that wasn't an option. Panic flooded him. He cursed over and over again in his head. This was all wrong. This was not supposed to happen.

"No," Doc started softly. Then it was like a dam burst. "No! I have to get back to Brielle! She needs me! I promise I won't say anything! Please just let me go!"

"I'm afraid we cannot take that chance." Rams said plainly. "Kipps, do it now."

The man with the silver goatee, Kipps, knelt down next to the circle just as the doctor began to scream.

"This is more so I can get a feel for the alchemy." He said to her through her terror. "Sorry if it's a little rough." And he slapped his hands to the circle, and Roy watched his last remaining ally become the first Nostrum, screaming her daughter's name.

The sound was like nothing Roy had ever heard before. Many people don't know that deer can make sound; especially one as ghostly and heart-shaking as the high-pitched shriek that the caribou gave. Doc's screams filled the air as well, pain-filled and sorrowful, as her humanity was ripped from her in a storm of sound, electricity, and pain. Becoming the thing she had been forced to create over the past few months.

The light this time was more intense than anything Roy had seen before, and the two beings in the circle were immediately engulfed with it. The way Roy could tell there was a transmutation going on was the sounds of their terror gradually becoming one and the light getting brighter as each circle was activated. Roy closed his eyes, this time to hide from the fact that his only chance of escaping had failed. He had failed in saving everyone. Doc, the other prisoners, the old man were all deaths and failures that he could put on his consciousness, for however long it lasted. When the lights died down and the screaming stopped, Roy knew it was only a couple of minutes until he was next.

When he opened his eyes, he was shocked with what he saw lying in the middle of the circle. The body was still human, but her skin was grey and her hair was white as snow. On top of her head perched two antlers, small compared to the ones the caribou had sported, but still impressive. When she opened her eyes, Roy thought he might burst into tears. They were a dark gold, kind of like Fullmetal's if his eyes were drenched in oil. But what caused Mustang to despair was the fact that there was not an intelligent light within those animal eyes. She lifted her head, the antlers swinging in the air, though they didn't seem to affect her much. She looked around, confused. One of the men tried to approach her with a rope but she twisted away from them, thrashing and straining against the chains. She opened her mouth and gave a high-pitched cry, completely like the one the caribou emitted not moments ago. Roy hung his head in defeat.

"Just loose the chains. It doesn't matter what happens to her now." Rams said to the men trying to corral her. They snapped the bracelets of the chains off and she bounded away with incredible speed, running to a corner of the room away from the door, where she paced anxiously. She looked at Roy once, but she didn't recognize him, sitting down in the corner.

"And you," He said turning to Kipps. He threw his hands out in a questioning manor. "You know how to do it now?"

Rams was obviously not pleased with the results of the first Nostrum. Rams thought it meant that the transmutation circle was no good, but it told Roy that Kipps was simply inexperienced; someone Roy desperately did not want transmuting him. Rams was _way_ overestimating Kipps' abilities to transmute.

"Yeah, I've got a feel for the alchemy now." Kipps said flexing his fingers. "I was a little confused because at first nothing happened and it threw me off, but then it started to kick in."

Suddenly, a young Sentry burst into the room.

"Sir, the military is here!" He yelled in a panic. "We have maybe ten minutes before they get to this point, we need to evacuate!"

The scientists started to murmur nervously, not entirely sure what to do. Rams snapped his head towards Roy's holders.

"Quickly, get him to the circle." Rams hissed.

His captor moved before Roy could react. He tugged at them just as they were slapping the chains around his wrists. _Damnit! This is no time to be in shock!_ But it was too late, the chains were already around his wrists and he couldn't slip them now. He pulled on them with what little strength he had left, knowing it was futile but something inside told him to _try, just please try_. He looked up and saw Rams surveying the animal line, trying to quickly decide on an animal to create the first true Nostrum with. But then Rams paused and took one of Roy's gloves out form his belt. He put the glove on, examining the array. His eyes caught onto the little red detail at the bottom the array and a smile crept across his face.

Rams quickly walked over to an aquarium and picked up a tiny creature from the bottom with his gloved hand. He sauntered over to Roy with the creature cupped in his hand, speaking to him as he did.

"They're not the brightest of creatures, and relatively harmless. But they are excellent swimmers and diggers, are incredibly strong in proportion to their size, and can regenerate limbs."

At this last part, Mustang almost gasped._ No way…_ Rams tipped his hand and the creature fell off. Sure enough, with a wet little _splat_, there landed a salamander. Though it was unlike any salamander Roy had ever seen. It had a pitch black body with red stripes branching off from its spine and running down its legs and tail. It had dark red eyes as well, uncommon in salamanders. The creature looked up at him and made a small creaking noise in agitation.

"I think you'll find it will benefit you in the long run. You may not be a Nostrum for the Sentries, but there's no way the military will let you stay as you are if you're a chimera. Then you will come back to me, mark my words." Rams said, removing the glove and throwing it in the circle just out of Roy's reach. He spun on his heel and snapped at Kipps. "Make it quick. We still have to get through my transmutation before the military shows up and ruins everything."

Kipps nodded and knelt by the circle again. Roy was watching the salamander numbly, his body and mind going cold and emotionless as he succumbed to his fate. He was somewhat fascinated by the creature as it bounced at him in an aggressive fashion, the thing still so full of energy. Just as Kipps slammed his hands onto the circle, Roy heard Doc give a small whine from the corner.

* * *

_When Roy Mustang was around nine years old, about three years before he firmly decided that he wanted to study alchemy for a living, he had a deep passion for animals. It wasn't obvious, with his quiet demeanor and destructive tendencies, but just like any child, he had a simple fascination. Only Christine Mustang knew about her nephew's/adopted son's secret obsession. She had lost count of how many times little Roy-boy had begged her for a pet. Didn't matter what kind, just some sort of animal, pretty please! A puppy, a kitten, a bird, a frog, a snake(that one was shot down immediately), and countless other species were brought up almost everyday at every meal, it seemed. Roy argued for each of the prospective animal's candidacy as his companion._

_But it was hard to keep pets in the residence living rooms of the host club. Not that they didn't have a policy against pets. The Madam before Chris, Madam Celestine, had kept her own cat in the building. A white long-haired thing that had a face that looked like it had run into a brick wall and went by the name of Snowball. Roy loved that cat, too, despite how many times it had scratched the snot out of him for bugging it and trying to pick it up. But having someone else's creature stalking around the club only seemed to fuel his drive to have one of his own._

_"I'll take care of it!"_

_"No."_

_"I'll clean up after it!"_

_"No!"_

_"You wouldn't even know it was there!"_

_"For the last time, Roy! NO!"_

_"The Madam gets to have a pet, why can't I?"_

_"Because she's the BOSS, Roy."_

_For the longest time, Chris wasn't exactly sure what ends Roy was trying to meet by having a pet to call his own. He was busy at school, he read strange books filled with circles and symbols in his spare time, and it wasn't like he was lonely. There were other young children that lived with their mothers at the host club, albeit they were all girls. And they liked the prospect of having a boy to play with, dress up, and chase around, much to Roy's own discomfort. There were times, however, that Chris had caught Roy laughing with them at their little tea parties. But, Chris mused one night after another round of begging from Roy, it wasn't like he was _completely_ alone, right?_

_"He's growing up, Chris. Those girls won't hold his interest for much longer." Madam Celestine had said to her as Snowball curled up in her lap. Chris had come to her with concerns over Roy's fixation on pets. Was this normal? Was he going to be emotionally scarred if he didn't have a pet? Would he grow up to be sad and bitter because he had never had a pet? Celestine had just chuckled and poured her a drink. "I have no problem with him keeping a small pet. I think owning a pet helps teach responsibility and commitment in the best way possible. But he won't be any worse off if he doesn't get one. The question you have to ask yourself is if you think he can handle it."_

_The answer to that question was an obvious YES to Chris. Roy himself had made that abundantly clear, and she didn't doubt that in the slightest. Maybe it was time she really contemplated the idea of letting him have an animal, instead of just brushing it off like she always did._

_These same musing followed Chris into the morning when she sent Roy off to school, and lingered through her workday. She asked some of the men she serviced what they thought. Some of them shared stories about their childhood pets, how they had been their best friends, had always been there. But there were also tragic stories of them running away to either get run over by cars or to never be seen again. Others just offered advice and warnings about the responsibility. Most had said what Celestine had said, leaving it up to her, mostly because they had wanted to go ahead and get what they came for._

_At the end of the day, she was sitting at a high table by the window that looked out to the front of the club, waiting for Roy to walk home from school. She had decided that he could have a pet. But what kind? Maybe one little turtle wouldn't be a bad idea. But they smell, and live _forever_. A parakeet? No, too loud, too many feathers. Snakes and most other reptiles were out of the question. Chris would have been fine with a puppy, if it weren't for the fact that they still had old Snowball prowling the halls. Another cat wouldn't have been any better. A hamster? But those are nocturnal, right?_

_It was at this point that she spied Roy strutting along the sidewalk on his way back, his book bag and lunchbox swinging. She smiled at the sight of him. In the mornings, he left looking like the perfect student with a straight jacket and tie. But in the afternoon when he came home, he was a train wreck. This time, his blue and silver tie had gone from around his neck to around his head. His jacket was tied around his waist and his shirt sleeves were rolled up, the top two buttons undone. It was late summer, and everyone could tell that fall was coming, but it was still warm enough even though the Earth was starting to cool down. Chris got up and started toward the door. She could only imagine the look on Roy-boy's face when she would tell him he was getting his wish._

_But she stopped and stared as Roy did a right-face and gazed into the grass lawn in front of the club. He stared intently at something, and the next thing Chris knew, he had bolted into the grass and had gotten down on his hands and knees and into the ever-present puddle by the porch. Chris groaned. She had thought he had gotten over his compulsions to get dirty a long time ago. Boys will be boys, she thought. He was digging in the mud, slapping his hands here and there, one on top of the other, as if he was trying to catch a fish. He finally scooped his hands together after a few moments, looked at them, and beamed. He got to his feet and raced to the front door. Chris moaned. _Oh no, he's found something...

_This certainly wasn't the first time Roy had brought an animal home with him, exaggerating the animal's dire situation and how it absolutely needed Roy to take care of it. The first time had been an injured sparrow that had had the misfortune of coming across Snowball when he hadn't been fed yet. Roy snagged it from the cat before the cat could kill it, but it was obvious to Chris that it didn't have long in this world. Chris moved to meet Roy at the front door so he didn't track mud into the club and placed her hands on her hips as he came pounding up the concrete steps, his muddy hands keeping a firm but gentle hold on whatever was in them._

_"Look! Look!" He said cheerfully, holding his hands up and completely ignoring the scowl on Chris's face. "It was lying still in the mud, I think it was injured by Snowball, but managed to get away. Mom, it's hurt real bad."_

_At this point, Roy looked up at Chris, and she could practically see the beginning of his begging forming in his eyes._

_"If you would just give me a chance, I could take care of it. I would take complete responsibility for it and feed it and-"_

_Roy__ cut himself off when Chris raised her hand. He prepared himself for the denial that always greeted him at opportunities like this. But not this time. This time he was determined to win this one out. This time-_

_"What is it?" Chris asked, eying Roy's muddy hands._

_Roy__ blinked. His adopted mother had never before cared what kind of animal it was. If it had fur or feathers or scales, it was an automatic 'no'. But something was different in his adopted Mother's eyes this time. Roy looked down at his hands and opened them ever so slightly._

_"Um, I think it's a newt." Roy said as he felt the tiny animal squirm in his hands._

_Chris leaned down closer as Roy presented the animal to her. It was still covered in mud, but she could tell by its flat, broad head and slimy skin that it was some kind of amphibian. Its right front leg was missing, but barely bleeding. Its tail swished agitatedly. Chris sighed. It wasn't exactly what she had in mind, but it would do for now._

_"Take off your shoes, and don't let it go." Chris stated. The look on Roy's face was better than she thought it would be. No matter how strict or tough she tried to be around him, his pure unimaginable joy always turned her insides warm and fluffy._

_Roy__ toed his shoes off and stepped into the club. He followed Chris behind the bar and into the small, barely used kitchen. Chris brought down a bowl from the pantry and Roy dumped the newt into it. She ran water over the creature, rinsing the mud off into the sink. Roy and Chris both leaned over the bowl to get a better look at the now clean creature._

_Its body was black and slender, with small dapples of light gray. Its paws had no claws on them, and its tail was fat and short. Chris had to admit, now that the thing wasn't covered in mud, it was actually pretty cute. She put her hands on her hips and faced Roy, who immediately straightened with an anxious look on his face._

_"Okay, Roy." She said sternly. "I'll help you set up the proper home for this little guy, but after that, it's all up to you. You think you can handle it?"_

_Just when she thought Roy's eyes couldn't go any wider, they were the size of dinner plates, and his smile was so big she could count all of his teeth. He jumped on her laughing at the top of his lungs and kissed his beloved guardian. She laughed and pulled him off of her._

_"It's your responsibility now, Roy-boy." She said kneeling down to his eye level. "It's not just a toy. This is a living organism. It's relying on you to take care of it."_

_"I understand, mom." Roy said, unable to keep his smile off of his face. She smiled at him and kissed him on the forehead._

_"Your first order of business," She said, "Give it a name."_

_Roy looked into the bowl and down at the newt, who had seemed to have calmed down and was looking up at Roy expectantly._

_"I've got it." He said, a gentle smile on his face. "Freckles."_

_Chris burst with laughter at the sheer simplicity, yet appropriateness, of the name._

* * *

A/N: I know there is a lot in this chapter, but this was the only good place to end. Things will start to pick up after this. The salamander from Roy's childhood is a Marbled Salamander. The one he was combined with is pure fiction.

As always, read, review, and enjoy!


	5. Nascent

_As you enter into this nascent life, with your possibilities and dreams, forget not who you were, as it has helped make you who you are._

* * *

Pain – tight, burning pain – was the first thing he knew when the light died down.

That, and the overwhelming and completely alien sensation of animal instinct gripping his brain, drowning out all that made him _him, _including his name_. _He had fallen on his side, the chain to his right wrist pulling at his shoulder. It took him a second to learn how to breath again, to learn how to make his heart not pound so painfully against his chest. Every muscle was tight and off-center, like they didn't lay exactly right across his bones. Being deconstructed and reconstructed will do that to a person. He knew his eyes were open, but the burning light from before continued to steal his vision for a few moments after.

Where was he? What had happened? Why was he in chains? _Danger, danger, DANGER! _He tried to sit up, but he was still too weak and dazed to even attempt to move his muscles. The instinct that gripped him told him to lie extremely still until he figured out what was wrong. If he lay still, then predators wouldn't be able to see him either. He needed to find a safe place to hide, preferably underground or submerged in water. His vision eventually came to, along with white walls, tables, people in white and black, and red paint on the floor. This wasn't right. He wasn't supposed to be here. How did he get here in the first place?

Two pairs of hands grabbed him roughly, slightly increasing his pain. His eyes widened in fear. _Danger! Get away! GET AWAY! _He threw his head to the side, away from the men dressed in black. One was holding him in place while the other was working at the cuffs.

"Hurry up and get him out of the circle." A cruel voice said. "I can practically hear the military coming down the hall!"

He felt the restraints around his wrists become undone and the hands begin to lift him up. This was bad, _very bad_. He didn't know why it was bad, just that he was in danger and needed to either run away or fight back. He opened his mouth, his throat constricting and naturally giving off a sound much like the creaking of wood. His eyes darted back and forth in panic, but his awkward muscles couldn't do much besides twitch weakly.

They dragged him across the floor over to the wall next to a door while he creaked and twitched the entire time. After half dropping and half throwing him against the wall, he immediately curled in on himself. _Breathe, breathe God damnit! _Why was it so hard to breathe? He put his hands on his head, trying desperately to get his mind sorted out. But the fear and instinct was so intoxicating and paralyzing, it was like trying to do paperwork in a rain storm. Unspoken and emotional instructions screamed in his head, and he was barely keeping himself from following them blindly. _Hide. Get somewhere safe. Make yourself small. Don't. Move. _It controlled him, _it was a part of him_. But he knew that that wasn't going to help him no matter how much the instinct told him it would. And besides, he couldn't get much smaller than he already was.

There was a faint growl and roar outside the cacophony of his mind. He stole a glance up into the room. There was a man standing in the place where he had just been. But he wasn't chained. His mercurial eyes were wide and frantic, his harsh voice barking orders to the men in white. His dark skin and dark red-haired head were damp with stress sweat. The scientists were leading a great, big, yellow and black-spotted something towards him on a lead rope. The only thing he could identify it as was _predator_. The predator was fighting against the rope with growls and snarls. The predator gave a particularly loud snarl, and he cowered against the wall, trembling and shivering with fear and confusion.

_Get a hold of yourself!_ He gritted his teeth, giving a small creak in annoyance. Name, that was a good place to start. He did have one, right? What was it? Did it start with an L, or maybe an N? Damn, this was so frustrating!

"Hurry up!" The man with the silver eyes snapped at a more muscular man with a grey goatee. "They'll be in this room by the time you get your shit together!"

He looked up once more to see the man was standing in the center of a very intricate transmutation circle with the predator, whose head was tied down low, almost to the ground. He watched, noting this whole process seemed familiar, like he had watched it be done many times before, but from behind bars. And the person on the outside of the circle was different…

"Do it now!" The man shouted, and the man on the outside of the circle slammed his hands onto the ground.

The wind picked up, and light flooded the room. He froze, a tingling running up his spine as the light penetrated the storm in his mind. The animal instinct was taken over by a habitual analysis of the alchemical storm, and it was as if the floodgates had been opened. Equations, chemical readings, and memories came back to him in a torrent of information. But none of it could answer the questions he had been asking himself earlier, like that specific information was being held back or blocked. But he remembered who he was, and he remembered his name. The animal instinct dripped away from his mind like water off of grass.

Roy managed to cover his eyes from the blinding light, his fear and confusion replaced with numb exhilaration. His mind was light now that it was relieved from the pressure of the instinct. He felt like he was barely attached to his body, his _new _body. His muscles that were still bunched and awkward, but starting to relax, and his skin that still tingled slightly were familiar, yet foreign to him. A panic that was muffled by his adrenalin quivered in his chest. As the light grew brighter and the doors to the room slammed open with the military stopping dead in their tracks to shield their eyes, Roy Mustang was silently and fearfully contemplating his fate.

_What have I become?_

* * *

_A few moments earlier…_

Maes Hughes rounded the corner of the last hallway in the Sentries little abandoned building they liked to call a facility, the Fullmetal Alchemist and Strong-Arm Alchemist close behind him along with the rest of his squad. He glared at the double doors at the end of the hallway, the square windows lighting up with blue alchemical light. _You better be in there, Roy _he thought to himself desperately_._ Up until now, they had only run into a bunch of empty rooms and doped up guards that took five shots to take down. Maes and his unit had broken into a couple rooms filled with cages, which in turn were inhabited with creatures and beasts that he had never encountered before. Maes knew what a chimera was, which lead him to guess what they were planning to use Roy for. And he prayed to god or whoever would listen that he wasn't too late.

"Dammit, Colonel Bastard." Edward hissed behind him. "What have you gotten yourself into now?"

Maes turned and saw Hawkeye and her squad – which included all of Roy's men as well – coming down from the other hallway, followed by the hollow clanging of Alphonse's armor as he ran up next to her. He shared a look with her, and she shook her head. So, that meant that the whole building had been searched with no sign of Roy, or any variation of him for that matter. Maes turned back to the double doors, where the alchemical light had died down. He could hear shouting on the other side of the doors as well as a large cat yowling and spitting. Fear clutched him as he imagined his best friend strapped to some table inside a transmutation circle with an animal. Anxiety gripped his heart, driving him into action – to act right now without any hesitation.

Maes lead the charge, rushing down the hallway with Hawkeye and Edward close behind him, Alphonse and Armstrong after them, keeping his gun held low. By the time they had reached the doors, the alchemical light had started up again, but he was not going to turn back now. Maes and Riza hurled their shoulders against the double doors and as they fell through them with their guns held up, the light exploded and engulfed the room and the hallway that the soldiers occupied. Maes took two steps into the blinding light before he stopped and put an arm up to shield his eyes.

He almost didn't want to open his eyes when the light died down again, afraid of what he would see when he opened them. But open them he did, immediately bringing his gun up to follow his line of sight. There were men dressed in black that looked like the men they had gotten through in the hallways. But there were also a bunch of geeky looking people wearing white lab coats and carrying clipboards. A bunch of animals were in the room as well, lined against one wall. Maes' eyes flickered to the unmistakable transmutation circle in the middle of the room and the man on his hands and knees in the center. His sigh of relief was a little too loud in the tense atmosphere.

The Sentries drew their guns, but by then Hawkeye had already shot three of them through the head. The scientist and the animals scattered, running to corners of the room to cower. One man with a grey goatee kneeling next to the circle grabbed a nearby table and dragged it over to him, flipping it on its side to shield him and the dark skinned man in the middle of the circle. Gun fire whizzed around Hughes as he took cover behind an overturned table with Hawkeye, the rest of the soldiers also taking cover. Edward and Armstrong immediately put their alchemy into action, sending stone pillars and projectiles at the men dressed in black. Maes reached over the table and fired twice, shooting one man in the shoulder and another in the gut.

"Do you see him?" He asked Hawkeye as he ducked away from return fire. Her eyes were already scanning the room from the side of the table. By the way her eyes were jumping around, he could tell that she had not spotted him yet. Hawkeye ducked back behind the table as bullets came blasting towards her head. She growled in frustration, gritting her teeth. She sat up and aimed her gun over the table, felling three more men with head shots. Hughes and Hawkeye looked at each other, and he could see his own panic and frustration reflected in her eyes. Hawkeye shifted her gaze toward the doors where more soldiers were streaming in, beginning to outnumber the Sentries. Her eyes suddenly went very wide.

"Lieutenant Colonel!" She gasped, pointing back towards the door. "Over there!"

Hughes snapped his head to look where she was pointing. Huddled by the doors wearing nothing but torn and bloodied military trousers, Mustang sat watching the scuffle in a detached manor. Hughes and Hawkeye wasted no time rushing over to him. Hughes was ecstatic with joy and relief, but Hawkeye couldn't help but feel a little caution as she approached her superior. He _looked_ human. Did that mean that they hadn't gotten to him yet? Were they not too late like she had feared?

"Colonel!" She cried as she knelt down next to him. His eyes stayed distant, glued to the far corner of the room. "Colonel Mustang, are you alright?"

His eyes slowly lead to her face, where he just stared at her. His eyes were blank, along with his face. She could tell by his exposed rib cage and sickly skin that he was malnourished. His chin and jaw had about a two weeks worth of scruff on it, the beginnings of a mustache and chinstrap eminent. His mouth dropped open, but he didn't say anything. She could see the muscles in his throat squirming just underneath the skin. A small rasp escaped his throat before he finally spoke.

"Riza..." His voice sounded rough, but Hawkeye supposed that came with the dehydration. "I'm… I'm okay."

She breathed a sigh of relief. Roy turned his head to continue staring at the same corner of the room he had been before. Riza followed his line of sight.

"Hang in there, Roy." Hughes said as he fired his gun at the Sentries. "We'll get you out of here soon. We'll put these terrorists behind bars for good measure, too."

"Hughes." Roy said, grabbing his leg. Hughes stopped and looked at his friend, but found that both he and Lieutenant Hawkeye were staring off into the same part of the room. Confused, Maes knelt down next to the other two and gazed into the corner of the room that had captivated the two other officers. And he could see why.

There was a strange being pacing nervously in the corner of the room that he immediately identified as a chimera. Maes almost didn't recognize her as a woman. She had grey skin and white hair, but she didn't look dead in anyway. Her most prominent feature was definitely the pair of thick antlers on top of her head. Her head snapped this way and that, her breath coming in a panicked rush. She gave small, high-pitched cries.

"Roy, who is that?" Hughes asked. He looked at his friend, finding a blank expression, but his eyes were concentrated and searching. Riza was looking at him as well, waiting for an answer.

"I…" Roy began, his forehead crinkling. "I don't know… but she's not a threat. I know that much."

Riza looked at him in concern. "Are you sure you're all right, sir?"

Mustang met her gaze reading the unspoken question that accompanied her inquiry. _Have you changed?_ His eyes stayed steady, but he didn't say anything. Finally he took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. His face and eyes cleared as if he had also made a decision of some sort.

"I'm fine, Lieutenant." He said, falling easily back into command mode. "I was hit on the head very hard a couple days ago. I might have a concussion. My memory of the last couple months is a little foggy."

By this time the fighting around them had escalated. Edward, Alphonse, and Armstrong had transformed the walls and floor into a garden of craters, spikes, and pillars in their attempts to drive back and corner the Sentries. And it was working, to an extent. The man with the silver goatee had slung the dark skinned man over his shoulder and carried him to the guard of the others. They were standing in a semi-circle around him as he took out a piece of chalk and began drawing a transmutation circle in haste.

"Do not think that you will be able to escape so easily!" Armstrong shouted. He rammed his hand into the floor, pulling up a large cube of concrete with his stone gloves. He punched the stone, sending arrow projectiles towards the cluster of men. They shouted in terror as they dived out of the way, one of them yanking the man with the goatee and unconscious person over his shoulder along with them. Dust filled the room as the projectiles collided with the wall, followed by a large _crack _and the sound of rocks crumbling. When the dust cleared, the soldiers saw that the terrorists were escaping though the new hole in the wall and out into the world.

"Armstrong!" Ed squawked. "What the hell are you doing?!"

"I-I merely was trying to-" The muscular man blubbered, clearly feeling guilty by his accidental assistance to the escape. But he was interrupted by Hawkeye, who had jumped to her feet along with Hughes.

"Get after them!" She ordered. "We cannot allow them to get away!"

Soldiers sprinted through the hole and after the escaped Sentries in hot pursuit. Maes started to make for the opening in the wall with hate and revenge for what they had done to Roy in his heart, even though he wasn't exactly sure if they _had_ done anything. But he was stopped by Roy grabbing his leg again. Maes looked down at him only to see Roy gazing up at him, his face was relaxed but he had a frantic look in his eyes. _Stay, please stay_ they begged to him. Roy was holding onto Hawkeyes trousers with a tight fist as well. They both looked at each other, and then stooped down to grab Roy under the arms. Hoisting him up onto his feet, Maes could now see just exactly how malnourished his friend was.

Roy's ribs were so prominent under his skin that Maes thought he could take a couple mallets and play them like a xylophone. His belly was collapsed, but now beginning to swell as a sign of deep starvation. His lips were chapped and slightly bleeding and even his skin felt sandy. His pants just barely stayed on his hips. Roy swayed a little on his feet, but regained himself and looked around the now almost-empty room. The animals in the room, also seeing the chance to escape, fled through the hole and in all directions. There was one being that cautiously approached the hole. Roy's eyes locked onto the strange chimera with antlers. Maes and Riza watched her as well.

She was creeping closer to the hole in the wall, looking outside timidly at the world bathed in the light of a setting sun. Her footing was careful; the only sound coming from her was the rushing of air through her nose as she breathed in the outside air heavily. Riza guessed that it had been a long time since either she or Roy had taken in fresh air. The wind blew through the hole and made her hair flutter about her shoulders. She closed her eyes and reveled in the feeling of the cool air over her skin.

Maes couldn't help but see her as some mystical and all powerful being at that moment. He had heard obscure fairy tales about a race of people much like centaurs, but instead of being half horse, they were half deer, and roamed forests on thin graceful legs and antlers on their heads. What were they called again? _Cervian_, that's right. She reminded him of the cervians. If anything, that was probably an appropriate name for the chimera. The cervian took a deep breath through her mouth, opened her eyes, deep and golden, and turned her gaze towards Mustang.

Maes glanced at Roy, seeing that he was staring back at her, his mind working behind his eyes, trying to remember. They stared at each other for a good three seconds. If Mustang ever did remember who she was in the moments when they seemed to be staring into each others souls, he did not show it on his face. Maes got a feeling – not even a feeling, more like a sense – that she had an important role to play in all of this.

"So I guess we weren't underground." Mustang said in a whisper.

Maes and Riza didn't know what to make of this statement. But apparently the cervian had heard him, and she blinked at him. Maes was too far away to see exactly, but it was like something sparked in her eyes. Her mouth fell open a little, whether to say something or to make another high-pitched call, Maes couldn't tell. And he never would, as the chimera broke eye contact with Mustang and bounded out of the hole with incredible speed. Roy rushed over to the hole, stumbling a little as he ran. Riza and Maes followed him, peering out of the hole just in time to see her jump over the eight-foot tall fence and land gracefully on the other side. She didn't look back once, her antlers swishing as she ran off into the darkening forest, disappearing behind a rose bush with a single, large flower blooming blood red.

* * *

Roy let out a deep breath. He turned away from the hole, his head hung in exhaustion. His mind was still fuzzy and riled. He could not remember everything, but bits and pieces stuck out. The instinct that had gripped him had finally disappeared, but he could still feel it in the far corner of his mind. Roy still didn't remember much about his time being imprisoned, which was the most frustrating thing of all. But there was something so familiar about that chimera just now. For a chimera, she was very memorable in appearance, but nothing about her seemed right to Roy. Only the white shirt and grey shorts she was wearing – even the rope around her neck – seemed to truly distinguish her as something, or some_one _else. He just couldn't place-

Roy was overcome by a sudden memory of being in a cell with many other people, sharing a loaf of bread between the fifteen of them. He got the feeling that at one time there had been even more people in the cell with him, and that he was in that cell for a very long time. A figure stood just outside the bars wearing grey shorts and a white shirt. They had shoulder length blond hair, determining them to be female to Roy. But her face was still unclear; the only thing coming through the memory was a pair of bright green eyes. The flashback ended. Roy blinked his eyes, focusing on the present. So it was going to be like that, was it? Fantastic.

Roy looked up at Riza and Maes, the joy he had felt when he first saw them pulling his lips into a tired smile. There were no words for how glad he was to see his best friend and Lieutenant. He did not know what possessed him to not tell Hawkeye about his current state. Even now, a foreboding feeling emanating from the instinct was telling him to keep his mouth shut. Remain a secret for now, for self-preservation. See how things turn out, then decide whether or not to tell them. Maes and Riza smiled back, his friend slapping a hand on his shoulder and pulling him in for a close hug. The breath whooshed out of Roy as Maes squeezed him in the brotherly embrace.

"You have no idea how glad I am to see you." Maes' voice sounded like he was on the verge of crying.

Mustang chuckled and hugged him back, placing his chin on Maes' shoulder and breathing in his friend's familiar cologne. He shared a look with Riza over Maes' shoulder. She smiled at him, her own unspoken relief being clearly communicated through her eyes. Maes pushed Mustang back, clearing his throat and turning away. He pushed his glasses up and rubbed his eyes.

"You're one hell of a friend, you know that?" Maes said with a broken laugh. Mustang laughed as well, for the first time in such a long time it seemed.

"I try so hard, you know." Roy said. "It's good to know my efforts are paying off."

From outside, a group of soldiers were walking back to the hole in the wall with Armstrong, Edward, and Alphonse leading them. They did not have seem to have had any luck in running down the escaped terrorists, judging by the sour looks on their faces.

"What happened?" Riza demanded when they got closer.

"They know these woods better than we do, sir." Armstrong spoke up. He shook his head. "With night coming, we had no chance of chasing them in the dark. I take full responsibility for my actions that allowed this to happen."

"It's okay, Major." Maes said, then turning to Roy with a smile on his face. "We got what we came for."

Armstrong visibly brightened at the sight of Colonel Mustang, bursting into an emotional cry of how wonderful it was to see the man again after so much worry and investigating. Roy grinned up at his fellow State Alchemist, realizing that he was in fact genuinely glad to see him. But his smile faltered when his gaze swept to the shorter Alchemist. Edward was smiling mischievously at his superior. _I am going to give you so much crap for this_.

"How ya doin', you useless bastard?" Ed said, his brother immediately giving him a remark which he ignored. "Did you have fun on your little vacation?"

Roy rolled his eyes. Typical Ed. "It's good to see you too, runt."

Ed growled at the name, but before he could retort, Hughes called everyone's attention.

"Alright people, I think we can finish up here and go home." He looked at Roy. "You might want to get yourself checked by a doctor after this, buddy."

Roy stiffened at that, which did not go unnoticed by Ed, Hawkeye, and Hughes. But he once again recovered himself and nodded in agreement. He couldn't keep himself a secret if the doctors found anything strange. But it would seem suspicious anyway if he didn't get a little medical attention. Just play along for now, Roy guessed.

"Right now though, Maes, there are only three things I want." He began counting off on his fingers. "I want a bath, a large steak dinner with wine, and a shirt. Not necessarily in that order."

"I'll see what I can do about that." Maes said smiling. "For now you can have my jacket."

Maes shrugged out of his military jacket and draped it over Roy's shoulders. Maes had always been bigger and taller than his friend, but now Roy just seemed to be swallowed by the wool garment as he pulled it closer to himself. Only then did he realize how weak and pathetic he looked, mostly-starved and barely able to stand. Roy looked to Maes to see a disheartened look on his friend's face, which Roy interpreted as pity. He scowled and turned away before Maes had time to realize his actions and change is face to hide his feelings. Roy absolutely hated it when people felt sorry for him.

They all turned and walked through the door on the other side of the room to exit through the front of the facility where the cars were waiting along with a medical van for Roy if he wanted it. As they were walking down a hallway, a cadet ran up to Hughes and saluted.

"Sir, the men are wondering what we are going to do with the chimeras in the cages." He reported. Maes thought for a while, thinking out loud.

"Well, we can't really leave them here." He pondered. "But we can't really take them with us…"

Roy watched his friends face, wondering for a moment what the cadet was talking about. But then he remembered, like a switch had been flipped and a light turned on. That was what that flashback had been about. He then realized why he had felt that there was supposed to be many more people in the cell with him. How on earth could he forget what had happened to the other prisoners, whom he had shared food and water with for such a long time? Panic gripped him, knowing full well what his friend was thinking. He saw the decision that Hughes was leading to on his friends face before he knew. He had to speak up. Now.

"No, Hughes." Roy spoke firmly. Maes looked at him, confused.

"No what?"

"You're not going to kill them."

Maes made an exasperated sound. "Colonel, we may not have a choice."

"He's right, sir." Hawkeye said as well.

"Those are human chimeras, Maes." Roy's face darkened. "They didn't ask for this. Do you really want to kill these people without giving them a chance at life?"

"Roy, think about it. What chance will they have at life in the state that they're in?" Maes said carefully.

"Some of them are still mostly human, Hughes." Roy's eyebrows drew together in aggravation. "They are innocent victims of a crazy man's scheme. They shouldn't have to die for that. Are you willing to wipeout dozens of human lives out of some misplaced sense of mercy?"

Maes looked wounded at Roy's statement. "That was uncalled for, Mustang."

Roy gathered himself, reigning in his sudden anger. It wasn't Maes' fault that he viewed chimeras the way he did. Most non-alchemists saw them as nothing but monsters and abominations. For a good reason, too. His heart quivered a little in fear. Roy prayed the day wouldn't come when his best friend found out what had happened to him, and then view him in the same way.

"I'm sorry, Maes. I over-reacted." Roy said softly. "But you can't put them down, it's just not right."

"I agree." Ed said, stepping up next to Roy. Everyone knew how Ed felt about chimeras. "They're still human. We should find a way to help them, not just pass them off as dangerous animals or things that need to be put out of their misery."

Maes sighed and rubbed his eyes. It was two against one, but Mustang felt that Hughes' moral compass was also pointing him in the right direction this time. He nodded to Ed and Roy, then turned back to the cadet and spoke firmly.

"Have some men bring food and water to the chimeras in the cages, enough for a couple of days. We'll have them transported to Central Command in due time, where we'll keep them in custody."

The cadet nodded and ran off. Maes trusted him to relay the information of the conversation he had just heard back to the men so as to keep questioning to a minimum. In the meantime, he turned back to Mustang.

"I'm placing them under your responsibility, Roy. I hope you and Ed can find a way to save these poor creatures." Maes turned and continued walking again, not hearing the very small "so do I" that his friend muttered. Ed had heard it though, and glanced at Roy with a suspicious look. Something about his superior didn't sit right with him. He couldn't figure out what it was, but he was going to find out.

They exited the building, entering the full and busy lot. Some soldiers were escorting badly beaten Sentries – gunmen and scientists – into an armored vehicle to be taken into custody. Others, who were not part of investigations, were piling into their own trucks. But there were still many more soldiers in the building checking and investigating the rooms as well as setting the chimeras up for when they would return, so they couldn't leave just yet.

As soon as Roy breathed in the dusk air, a feeling of freedom washed over him. Liberation was something Roy had felt before, when he stepped off the train coming back from Ishval. But back then he was still wrought with guilt and self-loathing by his actions. This was much sweeter, his muscles relaxed and his mind cleared. Roy reveled in the feeling of the cool air just as the antlered chimera had. He couldn't remember the last time he had felt so serene, so light, so…thirsty. Dear god, he needed water. His mouth felt like the Eastern Desert, even his skin itched from feeling so dry.

"You should go get yourself checked." Riza said to Roy. Maes nodded at the two of them and went back into the building to supervise. "Your concussion might be pretty severe if you're having a hard time remembering things."

Roy grunted and nodded, his tongue moving in his mouth in an attempt to extract saliva. Roy knew that they would have water at the medical van, but if he went over there, then they would want to do a checkup on him. Then they would confirm that he didn't have a concussion, and Riza would start having her own suspicions about him. But right now, with him being on the brink of fainting from dehydration, he could honestly say that he didn't care. He just really, desperately needed something to quench his thirst.

Riza escorted Roy over to the medical van, Edward tagging along. When they approached the medics, the first thing Mustang did was ask them for some water. One of the medics searched the vehicle, pulling out a case of water. Mustang snagged a bottle as soon as it was open, popping off the lid and guzzling it in a matter of seconds. Sweet relief, he never thought he had tasted something as magical or incredible as the cold water as it rushed down his throat and cooled his insides with chilling sensations. He leaned forward a little and poured some of the water out over his head, shivering as it trickled through his hair and onto his face where it collected at his nose, chin, and eyebrows and dripped onto the ground. Roy let out a moan of pleasure. Riza and Ed watched in surprise.

"Thirsty, sir?" Ed asked with one eyebrow raised. Roy gave him a critical look.

"Give me a break, Fullmetal." Roy frowned. "I haven't had a descent drink or a bath or been able to shave in the past… how long has it been?"

"Two and a half months, sir." Hawkeye spoke, her eyes downcast to the side.

"Wow, has it really been that long?" Mustang said as he reached for another bottle, one hand rubbing his scruffy chin. "Then I definitely have the right to at least five bottles of water before you can start questioning my motives."

After he had drained the second bottle, Roy let out a deep breath. He put the bottle back in the case and grabbed another one, this time drinking it more slowly. He sat on the back of the van as one of the medics took out a stethoscope and started to examine him. The cool metal of the stethoscope was a welcome sensation as well, though it did make him nervous when the medic listened to his heart and took his temperature.

"So Colonel," Ed started, his voice curious. "Why weren't you tied up?"

Roy glared at the young alchemist. Damn Ed and his perceptiveness. Roy didn't even think the young alchemist had seen him when they had burst into the room. Even worse was when he saw Hawkeye realize that Edward had a valid point, and then look to him for an answer. What could he say that would satisfy Ed and Riza? He couldn't tell them he wasn't tied up when they came in because he was still reeling from being transmuted. He drank a few more gulps to buy some time as a story formed in his head. Then he turned to Fullmetal.

"I wasn't tied up, Ed, because they knew they were running out of time, and had taken the prisoners out to be shot so as to tie up any loose ends." Roy stated. "There were only two of us left; me and an old man. The old man was practically dead anyway. So they cut my bonds and lined me against the wall to be executed. That, Edward, is why I wasn't tied up."

Roy was pleased with the look on Ed's face. But it wasn't completely true, Roy discovered as he realized that a rope still hung around his neck. All the other prisoners had had them as well, serving as makeshift collars for when they… Roy grabbed the rope around his neck, yanked it over his head and threw it on the ground. Riza and Ed jumped out of the way of the rope like it was a snake. Riza looked back to him with guarded concern in her eyes.

"Well, Colonel Mustang," The medic said, wrapping up his procedure. "Your temperature and heart rate are a little below average, but that can be expected from someone who's been starved and dehydrated." Roy gave Ed and Riza a pointed look. _See, told you._ "But other than that, you seem to be relatively fine. No broken bones or severe trauma as far as I can tell. I recommend though that you take a week to rest and regain your strength."

The medic patted Roy on the shoulder and retreated to the front of the van. Roy quickly looked to Riza, seeing that she was gazing at him in a critical fashion just as he feared. Roy thought fast.

"He didn't even check for a concussion, Lieutenant." Roy shrugged. "It can't be that bad. The memory loss might be because of trauma, or something."

Both of Riza's eyebrows arched at that. "I find that very hard to believe, sir." After the look Roy gave her, she continued. "You never struck me as the type that would ever suffer from trauma."

Roy was taken aback by that. Either Hawkeye thought very highly of him, or he didn't look as weak and pathetic as he thought he did.

"That's very kind, Lieutenant." He said as he reached behind him to snag another water bottle. "But I'm only human. I have weaknesses, too."

In Roy's mind, the instinctual part of him laughed at the part about being human.

The investigations team and Maes finally exited the building. Maes spotted the group over by the medical van, immediately heading over with a big smile on his face. As he approached, Roy shrugged himself out of his friend's military jacket and handed it back to him as the medic loaned him a white shirt. He slipped it over his head, glad that he was finally fully dressed for the first time in two and a half months. There's only so much of being shirtless that a guy could take.

"There's a lot of chimeras in there, Roy." Maes said. "You sure you can handle all of them?"

"I'll have one of the warehouses reserved." Roy said nodding, scratching his chin. "I really appreciate you doing that for me, Maes. More than you know."

"Well, if I hadn't listened to you, you would have bitched about it for the next week." Maes smirked. "I would rather face my in-laws than have to deal with that."

Roy nodded reluctantly, then made a face as he brought both hands up to scratch at the hair on his cheeks and neck.

"Honestly, Maes." He groaned. "I don't know how you can live like this. It's so itchy and constricting." Maes just laughed at that.

"Some men can pulled it off, some can't. And I know how hard it is for you to grow facial hair in the first place. Besides," He nudged Hawkeye with his elbow. "I think you look really rugged, don't you agree Lieutenant?"

"Were there any files anywhere?" Riza asked as she blushed and tried not to look at Mustang.

"Nothing that seemed to be of circumstance." Maes turned to her. "Bunch of pictures of chimera's and transmutation circles, a few research journals, but not much else. It seemed that everything they did was kept out of the books."

"So as far as you know, they could have just been doing this for no good reason." Ed scoffed.

"No… they were doing it for a reason." Roy said, trying to remember. He had known at one point. Didn't someone tell him all of this? Green eyes and blonde hair flashed in his memory, but was gone as soon as it came, leaving behind a smidge of information. "I… I think they were-"

"Hang on Mustang." Maes said holding up a hand. His eyes gazed around the lot to the vehicles that were now mostly filled with soldiers, with some of the investigations people still milling about and packing up. "Not here. We'll get to all of that when we go through debriefing."

Roy groaned. "Now there's something I didn't miss." He rolled his eyes. "Paperwork."

"Then you're going to love the mountain of it that I left you on your desk." Riza smiled. He knew she was bluffing, since she was obligated to take care of it as second in command. But he threw her an annoyed look nonetheless. Maes called his squad to pack up and move out. Ed and Maes headed to one vehicle. Riza gave him the decision to ride in the medical van and possibly take a nap or ride with her in one of the soldier transports. Roy wasn't thrilled with riding in the soldier transports with a bunch of men he didn't know, but he knew that if he stayed with the medics then they would give him a more thorough check over, increasing the chance of finding something… off. So he grabbed two more water bottles from the case and walked with Riza over to her designated vehicle.

Riza opened the tail gate to the bed of the truck and allowed Mustang to climb in first. Roy stepped up to the car, but stumbled and almost landed flat on his but when he was suddenly met by several cries of "Colonel!" Roy peered into the car and saw that it was inhabited only by his team. They beamed up at him with the most happiness that Roy had ever seen. It looked like they were already to jump out of their seats and tackle him to the ground. He smiled back at them, glad to see that they had worried about him.

"Good to see you, boss." Havoc said past the cigarette in his mouth.

"I'm so glad you're alright, sir." Fuery sang.

"It's good to see you guys, too." Roy said. He grinned at Falman when he slapped a hand on his shoulder. He took a seat across from Breda. "I hope you guys didn't slack off too much while I was gone."

"It was kind off hard to when we had the Ice Queen watching us all the time" Breda said, jerking his thumb at Hawkeye, who rolled her eyes and sat down next to Roy. The vehicle started up, and Roy cracked open another water bottle when it started moving. He settled into his seat as the rumbling of the van and bickering of his team filled his ears. Roy smiled at the familiar scene, and leaned his head back and closed his eyes. For a moment, everything seemed normal, as if nothing had changed.

Well, nothing except for Roy.

* * *

A/N: These chapters just keep getting longer, don't they? You guys have NO IDEA how hard it was to write this chapter. I am usually not very good at writing chapters that don't involve a lot of action. Plus I was finishing summer school last week, which is why I didn't post then. But I wanted something to leave everyone before I left on vacation. Ohbytheway: I'm going on vacation next week. And then after that I'm moving into my apartment and then band camp starts. So just a heads up. If I can, I might post another chapter - though it might be relatively short - before I leave.

To those of you who decided to skip the first four chapters, welcome! I hope things weren't too confusing.

Reviews make it rain. So please read, review, and enjoy!


	6. Vitriol

_Hearts that carry vitriol within them are hearts that have felt the scorn of life and have not yet forgiven and learned._

* * *

Roy was never going to take food for granted again. Ever.

After two and a half months of barely living off of water, bread, and jerky, the first thing Roy did when they made it back to Central was run off to the dormitory dining hall. It took Riza a moment to realize her superior was gone, turning to see his back disappear around a corner. Maes rolled his eyes at his friend.

"He's probably going to find something to eat." Maes said. "Make sure he doesn't make himself sick."

She nodded and rushed off after him, calling his name. But he did not slow down, and she managed to just barely keep track of him. When she rounded the last corner, she saw the Colonel going down the buffet line with a tray and a plate across the empty cafeteria. So far, he had a helping of pulled pork, green beans, two slices of spinach quiche, and an orange. Riza sighed and walked to meet him at the end of the line, where he had picked up a slice of strawberry cake and a carton of milk.

Roy barely made eye contact with Riza as he rushed past her, his _still _bare feet slapping on the ground. He hurriedly grabbed some utensils and sat down at the nearest table. Riza shared a look with the old lunch lady, then shrugged her shoulders and went to sit down next to him. Roy shoved his fork into the pork and crammed it into his mouth. He held his breath and didn't chew, savoring the taste. After a moment, his eyes widened, and then he let out a breath along with a moan of pleasure, his back deflating. He stabbed a couple of green beans soon after than. Riza watched in surprise when he took one slice of quiche in his hand, chomping on it hungrily like a slice of pie.

"Let's slow down a little, sir." Riza said, a small hint of amusement in her voice.

Roy rolled his eyes, but did reduce the amount of food that he was shoving in his mouth. Riza did have to admit that he was already looking better. After finishing off the pork, beans, and one slice of quiche, he planted his fists – still gripping a fork and knife – on either side of the tray and took in a bunched of deep breaths. He tilted his head back, staring at the ceiling.

"I've already forgotten what it tasted like." Roy stated with a troubled look on his face. "Only that this is probably the best dorm food I have ever eaten."

Riza chuckled, knowing that he must in fact have been _very_ hungry for saying that. She looked up and saw Maes, Ed, Al, and Armstrong walking towards them. Maes waved at them.

"We might as well do a little debriefing here." He said as they all sat down at the table. Ed hesitated, eyeing Roy's tray with hungry eyes.

"They have cake?" He exclaimed. "I'm getting some."

With that he dashed off towards the buffet. Maes called after him "Get me a slice Ed!"

Roy was now eating his other slice of quiche much more slowly than the first, savoring the taste. Armstrong pulled a folder from his uniform and handed it to Maes. Maes opened it, revealing a relatively small pile of papers, and laid it on the table.

"As you can see we don't have very much information on these guys." Maes said, rubbing his forehead and leaning back. "They call themselves the Sentries, they are an anti-military group that's been giving us trouble for the past four years or so, but they've never been so bold as to kidnap people, let alone a military officer."

Ed came back to the table, carrying three slices of cake. Riza guessed that two of them were for him self since his brother couldn't have any. He sat himself down next to Alphonse, sliding one over to Maes, and both of them took a bite. Maes swallowed before continuing.

"Before we get into all of that though, let's start from the beginning." Maes and Riza looked to Roy expectantly. "Tell us what you can remember from the time you were kidnapped till the time we rescued you."

Roy opened his carton of milk and took a large gulp, after which he crossed his arms over his chest and sat back, collecting his thoughts in his head. Riza wasn't sure or not it she believed that the Colonel had a concussion since the only thing she had to go off of was his word. She had suggested going to see a doctor as soon as they got back, but he had just waved her off. But she figured if he was lying to her, then he must have had a reason. And that he would tell her eventually.

"I remember the night I was kidnapped." Roy started. "It was after a really hard day at work, so I went to bed fairly late. But then I woke up about two hours later because I heard people in my house. I thought that they were burglars at the time. I put my gloves on and confronted them. I managed to burn a hand on one of them, but there were more people than I thought there were. Two of them came from behind and…" Roy faded out, a small blush coming to his cheeks. "…disabled me. They tied me up and knocked me out with drugs." Roy took a deep breath through his nose and closed his eyes. "Everything after that is… fuzzy. I remember being kept in a cell with the other prisoners, and watching the transmutations. But nothing specific, and I couldn't tell you who was doing the transmutations, only that it wasn't that other guy we saw when they escaped."

Maes nodded, steeping his fingers under his chin. "You don't know any of the other prisoner's names, or what they did?"

Roy shook his head. "What happened here after I was taken?"

"The day after you were kidnapped, our team got a notice that you had been summoned on a military mission to Aerugo." Riza spoke up. "I thought it was strange, but they had the official document with your signature on it and everything. The notice said that the mission would take a couple weeks." Riza narrowed her eyes. "It seemed unlikely that they would have a mission out of the blue for you, and even less likely that you would take it. But I didn't do anything." Riza let out a sigh. "I should have known that you would keep in touch during the mission in some way. I'm sorry for not acting sooner, sir."

Roy put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile. But that only seemed to make her guilt worse. He wasn't blaming her, but she was convinced that he should have been. It was her job to protect him, to guard him from danger within and without. But she had failed. Granted, he seemed to be okay – except for the supposed "concussion" – but deep in her gut she was tearing herself apart. The only thing that kept her from breaking down was knowing that they had not been too late. Thank god, they had not been too late.

"That's where I come in." Maes interjected. "Riza called me about a week and a half after you were kidnapped. She told me of the mission notice, and the first thing I did was head to Central Affairs to verify this. As you can guess, the secretary had no idea what I was talking about. After that, we found and arrested the soldier that forged and issued the document, who turned out to be a confidant for the Sentries. Then we went looking for you." Maes shook his head. "For a full month we investigated. We went to your townhouse in the east, but the only thing we found was a wet spot on the floor, signs of struggle, and a small hint of flame alchemy being used. But other than that, we had nothing." Maes' eyes sharpened suddenly. "Then we had a break through. Someone came forward with a lead, which got confirmed, and then we went in."

"Brother and I stopped by Central around that time as well." Al said. "We heard what was happening and joined the investigations team."

Roy nodded his head, his eyes far away. Riza remembered the whole thing clearly. She had called Maes after the nagging suspicion had finally built and pushed her to the point of exploding. It was around midnight when she had phoned Central. She was glad Maes was so willing when he was sleepy.

"Okay, Roy." Maes searched through the file. "I'm going to show you some pictures of people that work for or are affiliated with the Sentries. You just tell me whether or not you recognize them, and if you talked to them or heard them say anything."

Roy nodded and Maes laid the first picture down. It depicted a brown haired man with a bushy mustache and grey eyes. Roy waited for a memory to spark, but it never did. He shook his head, and Maes laid down the next picture. This was the same for the next few pictures as well. Riza figured them all to be scientists. Then they changed to bigger and burlier looking men like the ones that she had gunned down inside the facility. Roy still didn't say anything. Finally, towards the end of the pictures, Maes laid down a picture of a man with bright silver eyes, dark red hair on the top of his head pulled back into a pony tail with the sides of his head shaved. He had a strong jaw and a demanding look. Roy's eyes widened.

"Him." Roy said, bringing the picture closer to himself. "He was… the leader, I think."

Maes cocked an eyebrow at that. "His name is Artemis Rams. There's not much known about him. His family came here from Aerugo, he grew up relatively normal… but all other information is either destroyed or blacked out."

"I don't recall much, other than he was there the night I was captured, and that he was present for all of the transmutations." Roy paused. "If fact, now that I think about it, he was the last person to be transmuted. You guys busted in right in the middle of it."

"Yeah, I recognize him." Ed said, wiping frosting off of the corner of his mouth. "Do you have any idea what animal they transmuted him with?"

Roy pursed his lips in concentration. "It wasn't an animal I can recall ever seeing before. It was like a cat, but bigger. It was gold with black spots."

"We'll look into it later." Maes said, laying down the last photo. "What about this guy?"

The man in this picture had a thick neck, a grey head of hair with a military cut along with a goatee.

"Yes, I remember him." Roy looked up. "He was Rams' right hand man, though I didn't learn that until the end, when he was transmuting the guy."

"His name is Gordon Kipps. And you're certain he didn't do any of the other transmutations?" Armstrong asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Everything is fuzzy, like I said." Roy stated while rubbing his temple. "But yes, I'm certain. There was someone else who did all of the transmutation before he stepped in to do the last ones. But… I don't think she was working with the Sentries while she was doing it."

"She?" Riza interjected. "So you do remember who it was?"

"Not necessarily…" Roy shrugged. "I just get the feeling that the person was a woman, and that she was also a prisoner along with the rest of us."

"Roy, if she was transmuting for the Sentries, there's a pretty good chance that she was working with them." Maes tried to reason. But Roy just shook his head.

"No, there was a reason she was doing it, but it wasn't because she wanted to."

Ed had finished his second slice of cake by now. He crossed his arms over his chest and sat back.

"So what exactly were they trying to accomplish? Do you know?" Ed said to no one in particular.

"They were trying to create the perfect soldier." A deep, harsh voice said behind them.

Everyone turned and saw Lieutenant General Hakuro approaching their table, a couple of his subordinates in his wake. He had a hard, disapproving look on his face as always, and his hands were clasped behind his back as he walked. Maes, Riza, and Armstrong jumped to their feet in a salute. Mustang just saluted him from where he sat, one hand still holding the orange that he had been peeling. General Hakuro scowled.

"When I had heard that Colonel Roy Mustang had been returned to Central, I had to come and see myself." Hakuro stated. "It figures I would find you stuffing your face here."

Riza immediately looked to Roy, whose face had hardened into a scowl as well. Mustang and Hakuro had never gotten along very well. The General disapproved of how fast Mustang was promoted through the ranks under General Grumman. It seemed that every chance he got he was bullying or belittling the Flame Alchemist. But Roy took it in stride, shrugging it off and saying that Hakuro was just threatened by him. Riza doubted Roy knew how close his words were to the truth. Roy looked to Maes, a questioning look on his face.

"Colonel, General Hakuro is the one that came forth with the lead that lead us to the Sentries." Hughes explained. "And, ultimately, to your rescue."

Maes said that last part in a careful tone. It was a warning, everyone but Hakuro could tell. Roy switched his gaze back to the General, and opened his mouth to say something. Probably some snide remark disguised as a flattery. But Hakuro spoke first.

"I know what you're going to say, Mustang." Hakuro stiffened his back. "I've been dealing with the Sentries long before you even knew they existed. As terrorists of such a dangerous level, it's my job to try to know their whereabouts and actions at all times. Around the time that I had heard you had gone missing, the Sentries had been showing some suspicious activity for a while. I knew that it couldn't have just been a coincidence."

At this, Roy stopped eating his orange and gazed up at the General. Riza couldn't read his face at all. His mask that he usually wore around superiors was air tight. But every now and then, Riza got a feeling of her commander's spite and rage towards the higher ups. And sometimes she knew he couldn't contain it. Like right now. Roy stood up so fast that his chair was pushed a good three feet behind him, almost falling over. He kept his head tilted down and his voice low.

"With all due respect, General." Everyone gulped. "Why haven't you stopped them yet?" A vein was bulging in his neck.

"As I'm sure Lieutenant Colonel Hughes can testify, it's not very easy to find them and infiltrate them without them becoming aware of our presence." Hakuro kept his calm – a stunning feat in the face of Roy's wrath.

"And yet he also managed to take half of their forces into custody." Mustang clenched his fists. Maes pulled at the collar of his jacket, wondering just exactly when this had all become about him.

"I think a bunch of half-brained scientists and doped-up thugs hardly counts as 'forces'. The Sentries can always find more people to fill their spaces. If anything, what was brought to us was nothing more than canon fodder." Hakuro said. Riza was beginning to feel the pressure in the air. "Besides, I think he mainly managed to accomplish his infiltration because they were tied to the location by you and the other prisoners. I myself was surprised when we learned that they were kidnapping people. Their movements are unpredictable and dangerous."

"Then why haven't you done anything about them?" Mustang finally looked the General in the eye. Hakuro frowned deeply, his eyebrows drawing together in an angry line.

"I believe I am the one that is in charge of making the best decisions regarding-"

"Do you know how many lives were ruined because you _decided_ not to act?!" The outburst from Roy rang out in the empty dining hall. His teeth were clenched, his eyes were fierce, his muscles tense like he was about to attack the General. Riza was shocked to see him this way. Roy never let his feelings get in the way of how he presented himself to a superior. Even if he did, he wouldn't have been so blunt. It was so very unlike Roy to shout at a higher-ranking officer. She looked back to Hakuro, fearing the worst. His calm demeanor had cracked, frowning even more deeply and bearing his teeth as well.

"You're lucky that I am taking into account that you are weak and delirious right now, Mustang. Or else I would have you court marshaled for disrespecting a superior officer." Hakuro half turned away with a sneer on his face. "I came to see if you were okay, now I am half wishing that the Sentries had had their way with you. Good night, Colonel."

With that, Hakuro walked away with his underlings close behind. Roy deflated, his eyes tired. He shook his head at the retreating General. He turned to grab his seat and dragged it closer, not noticing that everyone around him just let out a breath of relief. A few moments after he had sat back down, his eyes went wide. Roy snapped back up and ran over to the nearest waste bin, emptying his stomach of the food he had just put there. The others watched him from the table. Riza frowned sadly at him, getting up and walking over to rub his back as he wretched and heaved.

"I told you to slow down on the food, sir." Riza said in a half-joking manor. They both knew that that wasn't the reason he was throwing up. But Roy went along with it.

"I guess that it's a good thing I hadn't eaten my cake yet." He hung his head, spitting into the trash can in an attempt to get the taste of bile out of his mouth. Maes tapped his shoulder, holding out a glass of water. Roy took it with a thankful look and swished the water around in his mouth.

"Hey, Hughes." Ed said as he and Al began to leave the dining hall. "I think Al and I are going to turn in for the night."

"Yeah, I guess it is getting late." Maes said, and then turned to the others. "We should all go home. Let's reconvene tomorrow."

Everyone nodded. Riza volunteered to take Roy to his house in Central. He told her that she didn't need to do that, but she insisted. Riza knew that Roy didn't have his full strength and health back yet, so she couldn't trust him to drive. As everyone left, saying good night, Riza sat down again with Roy so he could finish his orange, milk, and cake.

"I'm glad you're back, Roy." Maes said just before he left. "Take it easy, okay? Don't come in to work if you don't want to."

Roy smiled up at his friend and gave a nod. With that, Maes left, and it was just Riza and Roy left in the cafeteria. He ate the rest of his orange and drank the rest of his milk, but took one bite of the cake and then shoved it aside. He said that he had had enough food for a while, despite having emptied his stomach. But she nodded and walked with him out to the car. He flopped himself in the passenger seat while she drove. It wasn't very far between his house and her apartment. Before long, they were pulled up in front of his steps. Nothing had been said the entire ride, Riza watching the road while Roy stared on into the distance. She couldn't tell if he was lost in thought, or if his head was filled with the static nothing she knew he heard sometimes.

"I'll call you in the morning, sir." Riza said. Roy blinked and looked to his house. Then he turned to her and smiled.

"Good night, Lieutenant." He said, and then opened the door. Just before he slammed it shut, she returned the tiding.

As she drove to her apartment, starting to become dreary eyed, she muddled through her thoughts over the last twenty-four hours. Roy was okay. The Sentries probably knew better than to pull something like that ever again, and their case would be picked up again by General Hakuro. Riza felt the muscles in her back relax a little. She couldn't wait to get home and take a nice hot shower. It was the best way she could think of to welcome back the normal way of life.

* * *

That night, Roy was plagued with dreams of fire. Usually this wasn't a problem. But this time, it woke him up several times in cold sweat. He thought that a draught of whiskey could relieve him from his ailments, like it usually did. But if anything, it made the dreams stranger and more real.

Roy was outside of his body looking at himself. His body was covered in hot red flames. They burned around him and licked across his skin like angry demons, but he didn't scream in pain or writhe in agony. His own eyes peered out at him from the flames on his face. They were completely red, crimson like blood and his pupils were morphed into slits. He was hunched over and tense, poised to attack. Sometimes Roy would just stare at himself until the heat of the flames grew hotter and hotter and started to blister him. Other times, the flames on his body would slowly start to go out, and his flesh would crack and break and disappear along with the cinders, leaving nothing behind but a smoking pile of ash. But the worst was when he gave out a low grumble, which eventually turned into a hissing roar, and pounced onto Roy. He would scream as his inflamed body tore at him and burned him. Even after he woke up, he could still hear that ungodly sound ringing in his ears.

Roy tossed the covers off of him and sat up. It was apparent that he was not going to get a good night's sleep tonight. His skin was dry and itchy, especially his face, since he didn't have the energy to shave his beard when he had gotten home. Roy sighed in frustration. Since he couldn't sleep, he might as well clean himself up. Roy got up and padded to his bathroom. He flipped on the light and looked in the mirror. God, he looked like hell. The sooner he shaved and got a haircut, the better. Roy lathered the cream over his face and picked up his razor.

A few minutes later, Roy was once again the smooth cheeked young man that everyone knew. He still looked like crap. But it was definitely an improvement. His skin still felt irritated and dry. He looked at one of his arms, and discovered that his skin was cracked and peeling, flaking off of him in patches.

"Huh." Roy rubbed a hand over it, and small pieces of dead skin fell to the floor. It didn't seem like a rash or anything, not even as if he had gotten sunburned. He was just… peeling.

He turned to his shower and turned the water on. After shedding all of his clothes, he saw that his skin was in the same condition on his torso and legs. He didn't doubt it was like that on his back as well. In the shower, he scrubbed himself all over, washing away the extra skin from his body. Even his scalp was giving off pieces and Roy had to shampoo and comb his hair twice before he managed to get if clean. When he stepped out of the shower, his newly exposed skin was slightly red and tender, but he did feel better. The moisture in the air left over from the hot shower clung to his skin and soothed him, seeming to help form a coat of moisture that covered him from head to toe.

Roy looked at himself in the mirror. Truly, really considered his being. He didn't look different, he didn't feel different. Had he really changed? Was he really… a chimera? He knew that not every time you put two animals in a transmutation circle you would get a chimera. Roy had heard of some cases where one animal wasn't completely absorbed, only becoming energy for the other animal which then remained exactly the same. Maybe that instinct he had felt after being transmuted was nothing but residual from the animal they had tried to combine him with. He couldn't get the instinct to control him like it had even if he wanted it to. He also couldn't make the same creaking noise if he tried. Maybe the transmutation was incomplete, and that all that stuff – the instinct and paranoia – was only in his head.

Roy frowned. Was this denial? Just because he didn't appear changed didn't mean that he wasn't. But he knew that there was a way to test it. Because of chimeras messed up life force, energy did not flow through them very easily, making it impossible to perform alchemy. Even if they knew how to perform it and had everything set up right, it just wouldn't happen.

Now that Roy had firmly planted doubt into his own mind, he had to be sure. He pulled out a pair of fresh boxers and black slacks along with a white shirt and padded into his living room. There was a spare pair of spark gloves in his desk drawer and a candle on the desk. Taking both, Roy went to his kitchen and set the candle down on the table. He walked over to the sink and faced the candle. His heart was pounding, secretly hoping that he was in fact still human. It was possible that the alchemist that had transmuted him - Kipps, if he remembered correctly - had messed up the transmutation since he was in such a big rush. Plus, Roy got the feeling that he wasn't a very good alchemist in the first place. If that was so, then it was likely that he had messed up on Rams' transmutation as well. Which was even better.

Roy raised his hand to snap his fingers. But hesitated. What would he do if his alchemy didn't work? What if he was really, truly, and irreversibly changed? Roy gulped, just now realizing how much his heart was riding on this working. But Roy resolved himself, steeling his face. He could always cross that bridge when he got to it. Besides, if he didn't do it, then he would never know for sure.

Roy took a deep breath and snapped his fingers.

* * *

A/N: I'm sorry this is such a short and crappy chapter. But I thought I would leave the people who are following this with a little more to the story before I leave for vacation. OKAYGOTTOGOBYE!

As always, read, review, and enjoy!


	7. Incarnadine

_Beware, my child, the incarnadine waters. Be not swept under and carried away by the blood-red current._

* * *

When Riza called that morning, Roy was still sitting at the kitchen table.

It was when she called a second time that he finally managed to tear his eyes away from the candle and get up to locate the phone. He told her that he wasn't ready to come into work just yet. She told him that she expected as much, and that she would call him that evening. After he hung up the phone, he went back to the kitchen, his mind blank and numb.

A few hours passed, and Roy was still within the same state that he was. His stomach growled at him a little, but he didn't notice. His eyes were glued to the wax stick. His gloves lay discarded on the floor a few feet away, having taken them off after the test he conducted last night. The phone rang in the loud silence, making him jump. He rubbed his eyes and let out a deep breathe before getting up to the phone and putting the receiver to his ear.

"Colonel Mustang." Roy mumbled.

"It's Lieutenant Hawkeye, Sir." Riza said softly.

"Is there something wrong, Lieutenant?" Roy said, sounding harsher than he meant to. He was just not in the mood to be disturbed.

"No, sir. But Lieutenant Colonel Hughes has some things that he needs to go over with you. He promised that it wouldn't take all day."

Roy groaned. "Thank you, Lieutenant. I'll be ready when you get here."

"Yes, sir." She said, then hung up.

Roy let his arm swing down, the phone hanging limply from his fingers. He stood there in his living room feeling numb. His skin still felt moist from his shower, like he had lathered himself in lotion. Roy put the phone back on his receiver, then brought his hands before his face. The lines that had been engraved into his palms since his birth were deep from years of holding his hands in the same position. Roy could remember back to when he had gotten his ignition gloves. Before that time the center of his palm had been clean of any imprints or crevices. After he had gotten them, a line had developed straight across the center of both of his hands, a groove much deeper than the curved line that arched away from his thumb that he developed from gripping a pen. It had seemed that the day that Roy had gotten his gloves, he had changed who he was.

Roy looked at them more closely now, inspecting them for anything that might have changed. But there was nothing. Each line was familiar, attained from the different uses that Roy had put to them, defining what kind of person he was. Roy let his hands drop, a small smile playing at his lips. He turned and returned to the kitchen, where the candle still flickered with the flame that Roy had put there about ten hours ago. He watched the tiny fire dance and shine on its almost fully-melted wax stick. Roy smiled at the flame, a small trace of the relief and joy he had felt when it first came to life returning to his heart.

"Thanks, little guy." Roy whispered, and then with some reluctance, blew the flame out.

* * *

"We've sent the transport team down to the facility today, they should have all of the crates and chimeras ready to go by this afternoon." Hughes said as he, Roy and Hawkeye walked between the warehouses. "They'll be here by tomorrow."

"Very good, Hughes." Roy said as he opened the door to warehouse seven, one of the few warehouses that was still empty. But it was a rather small, and had no windows. Roy frowned and closed the door.

"You should also know that everything concerning my case with you and the Sentries is being transferred to Hakuro, effective tomorrow." Hughes eyed Roy, anticipating his reaction. When Roy had showed up at Central that day, he had shaved and cleaned himself, and his skin had an almost shinny aspect to it that Hughes guessed to be either sweat or humidity. He had to admit that Roy was starting to look better already, but he was still skinny and weak, and it had pained Hughes to call upon Roy so soon after he had been rescued.

"Fine, they can do with it whatever they want." Roy said rolling his eyes. "I would rather have nothing more to do with them if I can help it."

Maes raised an eyebrow at that. "Is that what you're doing by taking these chimeras that they've created?"

Roy cast him a dirty look over his shoulder, then walked across the way to warehouse nine. Hawkeye and Hughes shared a look, then followed their superior. Hughes still didn't understand why he had such a connection with these creatures. He could understand his reasoning against putting them down, but taking full responsibility for them was going a little overboard. It wasn't like Mustang was a specialist in bio-medical alchemy. In fact, Maes was pretty sure that Roy didn't even _know_ anybody in that field. But this was Roy Mustang they were talking about. He would find a way. He always found a way.

Roy stepped back from the door of warehouse nine, a small smile on his face. "I think this one will do rather nicely." Hughes looked into the large and spacious warehouse with windows lining the walls near the ceiling and many skylights. Hughes figured this would be the warehouse he would choose. It wasn't the first time it would be used to house animals of some sort.

"I'll let the maintenance manager know that you want to use it." Hughes said stepping back. "Now, there's only one more thing I need to go over with you, Roy."

"Can't it wait till tomorrow, Maes?" Roy groaned. He rolled his shoulders underneath the loose fabric of his uniform. His own uniform looked gigantic on himself, Hughes noticed.

"How about we discuss it over lunch?" Hughes said with a smirk on his lips. "My treat."

Mustang put on a show if considering the offer by puckering his lips to one side and quirking his eyebrows, but Maes already knew his answer. Roy would never turn down a free meal, starved or not.

"Well, I guess if you're paying, how can I refuse?" Roy smiled back at his friend then looked to his Lieutenant. "Join us, Hawkeye. The Lieutenant Colonel's paying!"

"I would be obliged to come with you." Riza nodded, then to Maes said "But I would rather not mooch off of a superior. I'll cover myself."

They departed Central Head Quarters and walked the streets to a small restaurant that allowed them to sit outside in the sun. It was almost June, but the weather was still in the nook between uncomfortably hot and slightly chilled. They chose a small table in a corner of the back patio that was half in the sun and half in the shade of an umbrella. A large tree with roots above-ground offered shade as well. Hughes and Hawkeye elected to stay out of the sun. They knew just how hot their heavy wool uniforms could get. But Roy seated himself under the rays and let out a contented sigh, his back facing the heat. The backlight set a white sheen to his hair and made the moist skin on his face glisten slightly.

"You sure you won't get hot?" Hawkeye asked him.

"No, I'll be fine." Roy looked over the drinks menu. "I haven't felt the sun in two and a half months, I think it's okay if I get a little burnt right now."

Riza and Hughes shifted uncomfortably at that, the anxiety and worry of his capture still present in their hearts like cold stones. Memories sprang up in Maes' head without meaning to, making his heart jump a little. The whole debacle had nearly driven him mad, and he had gone many nights without sleep. Gracia at one point was forced to spike his food with sleeping pills, and it was a good thing she did, too. But Riza didn't have anybody to slip her drugs and force her to relax. She had ridden that emotional and physical roller coaster the whole way through, and even now Maes could tell that her usual stone-faced composer was mostly due to being emotionally drained. And after all that, Maes couldn't believe Roy was being so calm about it. In fact, he had seemed rather happy all day.

They ordered their drinks and food. The waitress was a light-brown haired thing with big brown eyes to match. Naturally, Roy took notice of her. She beamed at him when he talked, but barely acknowledged Riza or Maes when they told her what they wanted. She refilled his glass frequently. When she asked if there was anything they needed, she would look at him. Maes didn't mind all that much, having put up with this kind of thing since the academy. But he knew how much it off-set Riza. It was probably a good thing that she was already so emotionally numb.

Riza sniffed past a stiff upper-lip in a displeasing manner after a rather coy bout with the waitress that lasted just a little too long. Then she quirked an eyebrow and sniffed the air again.

"It smells kind of funny around here." She remarked. Hughes inhaled largely through his nose, and immediately noticed a smell that hadn't been there five minutes ago.

"You're right. That's rather strange." He twisted his head this way and that, trying to locate the source of the smell.

"I don't smell anything." Roy said, leaning back and crossing his arms. "What is it?"

"I don't know." Hughes said, looking from side to side with narrow eyes. "It's kind of like a wet earth smell, or like freshly cut grass only a little more…"

"Moldy?" Riza offered.

"Yeah, moldy." Hughes nodded.

"Maybe it's that old tree. Could have accumulated some mold over the years." Roy said as he shifted his arms so his hands were clasped behind his head. As he moved, the smell washed over the occupants on the other side of the table more strongly. Maes frowned, then got up and circled to the other side of the table.

"I don't think it's the tree. Hold still." He said to the look on Roy's face when he leaned his own closer to Roy's neck. When he was about an inch away from his skin, he sniffed. Sitting back down with a curious look on his face, Maes said "I highly suggest you switch to different cologne, Roy."

"I'm not wearing any cologne, Maes." Roy said putting his arms down to his side. "I didn't have time to do much besides get dressed and eat a little this morning."

"Hm, well you smell like a swamp, my friend." Hughes stated. Roy scowled at that.

"What did you want to talk about, Maes?" Roy asked sourly.

Just then the waitress walked up with their food, serving Roy first. He immediately put on a charming grin as he thanked her, and Hughes thought that she might drop his and Riza's plates. She gasped as she regained her self and apologized for fumbling. Her smile faltered a little as her nostrils flared slightly, and she set the rest of the food down and told them if they needed anything to just ask somebody and rushed off. This time she didn't sway her hips. Roy cast a confused look at her retreating form.

"Did I do something?" He asked the other two.

"I'm telling you, Roy. You smell funny." Hughes said with a small laugh. "Maybe you should get out of the sun. You look a little sweaty."

"I'm not sweating. I'm not even hot." Roy said as he shifted in his seat.

"What ever you say, Roy." Maes said, sipping his drink.

"So what did you want to discuss, Maes?" Roy asked again.

The smile melted off of Hughes' face. He had kind of been trying to avoid the subject that had been haunting him all morning. But he couldn't wait any longer. He was going to burst. He set his face sternly so Roy and Riza would know that he meant business.

"Today, we began interrogating some of the scientists and men who worked for the Sentries." Hughes began. "The thugs were very tight-lipped, but the scientists were practically squealing. They told us some… interesting things."

"Oh?" Roy cocked an eyebrow. Hawkeye's interest was also peaked. "Like what?"

"Like what they were doing, what they were trying to achieve, nothing that we didn't already discover. But then they also told us," Maes looked over the tops of his glasses. "Where all those chimeras came from, and who they transmuted."

Roy showed no visible reaction to this. He brought his hands up and clasped them in front of his face, his elbows on the table. "Go ahead and say what you want to say, Maes."

Maes sat up even straighter, the words he needed to say sticking to his tongue out of disbelief and fear of the reaction. "They said that you were transmuted into a chimera just before we burst in. Is that true?"

Hawkeye shot him a look of disbelief, but held her tongue and kept her eyes down at her food which she picked at with her fork. Hughes could still see in her eyes that she was slightly angry that Hughes was implying that Roy would keep something that big from them. But he could see that she also had her own doubts. Roy was calm and stared at Hughes with his deep blue eyes. He seemed to be collecting himself.

"I'll give you an answer, Hughes, but only if I have your word that you let me give the entire story before you do anything." Roy's voice was very cautious, his words picked carefully. But Hughes did not like that answer, and it set an uncomfortable knot in his gut.

"It's a yes or no question, Roy." Hughes growled, his voice tight.

"Maes, I need your word." Roy narrowed his eyes at his best friend. Clearly he was upset. But they were in public, and Hughes knew better than to make a spectacle. He scowled at his friend, realizing that he was the one that had been cornered this time.

"Alright Roy, you have my word." He said through gritted teeth. His frustration was replaced with a sudden fear, a premonition that he was mostly likely not going to like what Roy had to say.

"Thank you, Maes." Roy smiled softly. "But first let's finish our food."

Maes and Riza gawked at Roy as he nonchalantly started to eat. Hughes was about to get into a shouting fit at Roy for being so cool when his situation was probably really bad. But Riza grabbed his wrist. He looked at her, saw that a small amount of fear resided in her eyes as well. But she had more experience in dealing with Roy's stubbornness, and knew that not much could change his mind when he made a decision. Especially when food was involved. Maes took a couple deep breaths and tried to calm down. It helped a little, but not much. He settled back into his seat and Riza let go of his arm. The three continued on in silence. Riza and Maes ate very little of their food while Roy had all but licked the plate clean. He had also gone through another four glasses of water, all of which were poured this time by a male waiter who hardly took notice of the occupants at the table and the strange odor that emitted off of one of them.

Finally, when the table had been cleared, it was getting to be late afternoon and the patio of the café was mostly empty, as people preferred to sit inside on the cool, moist nights. Riza and Maes waited as calmly as they could while Roy downed another drink. The ice in his glass sloshed back to the bottom as he set the glass down and let out a satisfied breath. He only paused for a moment after that.

"It's true." Roy started. "I was transmuted right before you guys burst in."

Maes and Riza widened their eyes. Maes nearly jumped out of his chair, preparing to yell and berate Roy for his ignorance and betrayal. But he remembered his promise and kept silent, instead choosing to clench his fists like Riza had.

"_But_," Roy shifted his gaze between the two of them. "I'm not a chimera."

"How could you have been transmuted and _not_ turned into a chimera?" Hughes said after a while of trying to figure it out by himself. "Did they not have an animal with you?"

"No, they did put an animal in the circle with me. I don't know the exact science of it," Roy leaned back, eyes down. "But when you create chimeras, you have two subjects; a primary subject and a derivative subject. The derivative subject is basically being absorbed into the primary subject to the extent that the alchemist or the circle allows. But if the derivative subject isn't completely reconstructed and absorbed within the primary subject, it's just energy for the primary subject, who remains exactly the same. And then if the derivative subject is absorbed too much by the primary subject, then it takes over the primary subject. Apparently it's a very common mistake to make. Do you guys understand?"

Their blank faces were enough of an answer. Roy let out a long sigh. Talking to non-alchemists about alchemy was always such a chore.

"Look, I can prove to you guys that I'm not a chimera." Roy said, gesturing urgently with his hands.

Maes quirked a disbelieving eyebrow at that. "How?"

Roy pulled out one of his gloves while he spoke. "Alchemists use their life forces to direct and control the alchemy flow within themselves. But since chimeras have contorted and messed-up life forces, they are incapable of controlling and performing alchemy." Roy paused. "Are you with me so far?"

Maes and Riza nodded. Everybody knows that chimeras can't do alchemy. He didn't really need to explain it. Roy held up his hand with the glove. He took the paper napkin from his lap and placed it on the table. "I can still do alchemy. Ergo, I'm not a chimera."

He snapped his fingers. Sparks flew from his gloves and landed harmlessly on the table in front of him. A small puff of flame burst into existence in the space between his fingers and the napkin, and was gone just as quickly. But the napkin remained untarnished. Maes didn't even feel any heat come off of it. He quirked an eyebrow at Roy. Roy had a confused look on his face. He looked up at Maes and Riza, his eyebrows arched in anticipation of their reactions. They stared at him. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"It's been a while." He said, his voice tight and low. "That's all."

He snapped his fingers again, and this time the flame did travel the distance between his fingers and the napkin, setting it ablaze and smoking. The three of them watched it smolder, the red tails of flame spreading across it, leaving a black thinness in its wake. Riza silently let out a sigh of relief. Maes had to admit he was feeling the same way, if only ever so slightly. He let out a breath through his nose.

"Sorry for bringing that up Roy, but I had to know." Maes smiled meekly.

Roy nodded. "I don't blame you. I would be suspicious as well if I had heard something like that given the consequences. You didn't do anything wrong."

Maes smiled weakly at Roy, who also smiled back. But there was something that Maes could see in his friend's eyes that concerned Hughes. It was a small worry, maybe even a fear that seemed to be budding in his friend's mind. But Hughes was stressed as it was, so he put it out of his mind, thinking that maybe it was nothing. Just like the whole Roy-being-a-chimera debacle that just happened.

"Well, now that we've all settled that worry once and for all." Riza stated as she stood, "It's getting late, and I need to go feed Black Hayate and let him out." She turned to Hughes and pulled some cens out of her pocket. "This should cover my lunch. Thank you for treating us."

"And you're buying my food." Roy said with a smirk as he stood as well. "I'm glad you managed to get me out of the house today, it was actually quite nice to get some fresh air." His smile faded as his face became more serious. "Keep me updated on the chimera transfer tomorrow, please."

Hughes nodded at Roy as the waiter brought the check. Roy held his arm out to Riza in a gesture to escort her home. But she took one look at his moist skin and one whiff of his musk and turned away.

"Just promise me that you will take a shower when you get home, sir." Riza said walking away. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Roy watched her leave with an offended look. He lifted arm and brought his nose toward his armpit, taking a sniff. He put it back down and turned to Hughes with a shrug.

"I can't smell anything." He said.

"If anything, take a shower to get all that sweat off your skin." Hughes offered.

"For the last time, I'm not sweating." Roy said as he wiped his brow. The moist layer there smeared across his forehead, but did not come away with his hand.

"Just take it easy, Roy." Hughes said as he laid out the cens on the receipt and waited for it to be collected. "No more surprises, okay?"

Roy nodded and walked away, leaving Hughes in the dim sunlight. Hughes finally allowed his muscles to relax, having not realized that they were still tense. He clasped his hands behind head and leaned back in his chair, looking up at the stars that were just coming into view. He smirked to himself. It was interesting, having a man like Roy Mustang in his life. It might not have always been the healthiest of life styles, but one thing was for certain; it always kept him on his toes.

* * *

Roy closed the door to his house and leaned his back against the door, his mind racing with worry. What had happened at the restaurant had not been an accident. That first snap should have come out just fine. Roy couldn't think of a reason why it didn't. It was as if the alchemy had just suddenly…cut off. One moment the transmutation was working, flowing through him and in the direction that he wanted it to, and the next it had been like a gate had slammed shut, blocking the reaction and everything else along with it.

Roy rushed to the kitchen, where the candle still sat on the table. He pulled his glove on his hand and prepared to snap his fingers. The energy for the alchemy collected in him, somewhere behind his heart. The oxygen in the air gathered around his finger tips like it always did. It collected in a stream leading to the candle, where it sat on the wick like a panting dog. Roy snapped his fingers, and the oxygen ignited and began to fuse along the path that had been created with such speed that it seemed to jump through the air without a trace. But just before it made it to the wick, the oxygen dispersed and the fuse snuffed itself out into the air.

Roy blinked. It had happened again. The alchemy had just… stopped. The energy within him had disappeared. It was as if it had never even been there. Roy looked at his glove. The moisture from his skin had seeped through the cloth of the glove and dampened it. Maybe that was it; his glove was just wet. He ripped his glove off and grabbed a dish towel from his cupboard, wiping away the thick layer that covered his hand, wrist, and just about everywhere else on his body. When it seemed his hand was dry, Roy slipped the glove back on and spun around to the candle, snapping his fingers. The stream of fire and oxygen ignited again, but cut out even quicker than it did the first time.

"Come on." Roy growled becoming frustrated. He shook his hand, like one would shake a pen as if that would magically make the ink flow. He poised his fingers again, took a deep breathe, and snapped his fingers. He felt the collection of energy within and around him, something that he always knew happened unconsciously, but now that he was actually thinking about the process of the transmutation, he realized what a strange sensation it was. The oxygen lined itself up again like it had all the times before and ignited. It traveled faster than lightning through the air across the room to the candle wick. The small thread encompasses within the wax caught the flame without a problem, lighting the room once again.

Roy lowered his hand. There was actual sweat on his brow now, and he found himself a little short on breath. Transmutations didn't usually take so much out of him. What was happening to him? Why was he suddenly having so much trouble with something he could do twelve hours ago? Maybe he was… no, people don't slowly turn into chimeras, especially not outside a circle. There was no in between when it came to human transmutation. It either worked or it didn't. Roy had never heard of a case where someone was only _mostly _chimera.

But if nothing was wrong with him physically, then what? Mental? Emotional? Maybe Roy did have some sort of trauma resulting in his capture and imprisonment. He highly doubted it, but with what he had gone through and recent events, it probably wouldn't have been a very big surprise. And then there were those nightmares… Roy slipped his glove off as he walked into the living room and sat down, his knees and spine cracking from relief. Roy sighed. Damn it, he hated psychiatrists. He went to see a child psychiatrist as part of the procedure after his parents died. He had constantly felt like he was being treated younger than he actually was, and that always irked him to no end. If he had wanted to talk about the tragedies in his life, then he would have talked to someone that he knew actually gave a damn. Like Maes, or Havoc, or even Hawkeye as a last resort. And maybe only if he was drunk.

Speaking of drunk, Roy spied a glass of scotch sitting on his coffee table. He must have left that there the night before. He reached for the glass and swished the liquid around. It had probably gone stale, but Roy found he didn't really care. He tossed the glass back and dry swallowed the liquid. The taste was gone, but the fire that it brought to his mouth and throat was just as strong. He gasped as he pulled the glass away from his lips, instantly feeling better.

Roy looked at the clock. It was about 8:00, and Roy contemplated whether or not he should go to bed. The chimeras would be arriving in central tomorrow, and Roy had gotten only about two hours of sleep the night before. He got up and went to his room. As he was pulling his glove off, he paused and looked at the circle embroidered on the back. Particularly the small red animal stitched near the bottom of the circle. The salamander was such a strange creature. It spent almost its entire life in water, and when it wasn't, it dug holes. Hiding away from the world, with nothing but its abilities and poisonous skin in some cases to protect it. But yet it prospered and even dominated in some cases.

A sudden memory of being chained to the ground flashed in Roy's mind. The sensation of being weak and helpless filled him. He saw the red markings of the transmutation circle around him, as well as the people that stood beyond them dressed in white lab coats and black get-ups. A creaking sound filled his ears, emanating from the small black creature at Roy's knees. Its bright red stripes burned across it like magma. Roy put a hand to his head as the flashback faded. His knees wobbled and he couldn't help the wave of nausea that overtook him. Roy managed to take one step toward his bed before he collapsed on top of it and blacked out.

* * *

A/N: Let me tell you guys, this chapter was HARD to write. I think I've already told you guys that I'm not very good at writing parts that don't involve a lot of action. Plus there was my vacation and college and band and moving and AAAAAAAAAAHHHHH. But I managed to crank this out. This actually isn't where I wanted to stop, but that would have meant another 4,000 words and that would just be overkill. I hope you guys haven't given up on this story, because I haven't! I'm trying to make this a story that people would want to make fanart about!

So please, read, review, and enjoy!


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